The Moon and Mars have very ideal conditions for static electricity accumulation: their soil is drier than desert sand on Earth. Because of this, the soil becomes an excellent insulator, preventing electric charges from dissipating into the ground.
When astronauts traverse the surfaces of these celestial bodies, their shoes or wheels accumulate electrons due to friction with gravel and dust. The astronaut’s suit or the vehicle they are driving can become charged with a significant amount of electricity, potentially reaching hundreds of volts.
Therefore, at bases on these celestial bodies, aluminum grounding plates must be installed. When an astronaut returns to the base, they must walk over these aluminum plates to dissipate the static electricity from their bodies (or from the vehicle) into the ground. Scientists have also devised another method to cope with static electricity: attaching long needles, about 2.5 cm in length (made of tungsten and with an extremely small diameter of 0.000254 cm), mounted on an antenna pedestal. These needles serve to gradually release static electricity into the atmosphere.
