"On Mars, dust particles are a little more rounded, not as jagged and cutting into you. At the conclusion of Apollo 17's mission in December 1972, moonwalking suits and space helmets are covered by lunar dust. He co-authored a recent paper on "Potential Health Impacts, Treatments, and Countermeasures of Martian Dust on Future Human Space Exploration." Martian dust seen on NASA's Perseverance rover on July 27, 2026 (Sol 1932) by the rover's Right Mastcam-Z camera. The worry is not that Mars dust is uniquely or catastrophically toxic based on what we know now, Morrison told Space.com.