A Fall of Moondust by Arthur C. Clarke

Fall of Moondust is a hard science fiction novel by British writer Arthur C. Clarke, first published in 1961. It was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Novel and was the first science fiction novel selected to become a Reader's Digest Condensed Book.

Plot
By the 21st century, the Moon has been colonized, and although still very much a research establishment, it is visited by tourists who can afford the trip.

One of its attractions is a cruise across one of the lunar seas, named the Sea of Thirst, (located within the Sinus Roris) filled with an extremely fine dust, a fine powder far drier than the contents of a terrestrial desert and which almost flows like water, instead of the common regolith which covers most of the lunar surface. A specially designed "boat" named the Selene skims over the surface of the dust in the same manner as a jetski.

But on one cruise, a moonquake causes a cavern to collapse, upsetting the equilibrium. As the dust-cruiser Selene passes over, it sinks about 15 metres below the surface of the dust, hiding the vessel from view, and trapping it beneath the dust. Immediately there are potentially fatal problems for the crew and passengers inside. The sunken Selene has a limited air supply, there is no way for heat generated to escape,

A BBC Radio drama of the story was produced in 1981. It features David Buck as Captain Pat Harris and Barry Foster as Chief Engineer Lawrence.