CHARGED DUST. “As long ago as 1850, Michael Faraday commented on the peculiarities of the production and discharge of electric charges during sandstorms, a phenomenon repeatedly rediscovered over the intervening century and a half. Similarly, sand is known to become strongly electrified by helicopters traveling in desert environments, producing spark and explosion hazards, and the issue even has implications for missions to the Moon and to Mars, where charged dust degrades solar cell viability and clings to spacesuits, limiting the lifetime of their joints.”
http://arxiv.org/pdf/1003.5188