Cover Story

NASA program tests materials in space

INSIGHT

Hundreds of materials, held in a package the size of a suitcase, are braving the elements of space as part of NASA's Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE).

Attached to the doorway of the International Space Station last August, the materials will be exposed to the space environment for approximately six more months before they are returned to Earth, where engineers will study them to determine how the conditions of space affect materials that could be used to build advanced spacecraft.

Three samples of ultra-thin tether materials are of particular interest to NASA scientists, as they are similar to materials in tethers on the Propulsive Small Expendable Deployer System, scheduled to take its maiden voyage in early summer 2002.

Also being tested aboard the space station are materials used for solarpower cells, spacecraft shielding, thermal control, optics, and lubricants.

The extreme levels of ultraviolet radiation, atomic oxygen, hard vacuum, and contamination found in space have a strong degrading effect on some types of materials, according to NASA. Because the unique environment of space is difficult to simulate in a laboratory to test materials, MISSE will provide valuable data.

This study will offer researchers insight into developing both materials for use in future spacecraft and for longer-lasting materials in more downto-earth applications. For example, exterior paint could benefit from the information gathered from MISSE. Samples of coatings are among the materials currently being tested in space, where they will be exposed to high doses of ultra-violet and other radiation from the sun. Because painted or coated surfaces on earth are exposed to these forces at lower levels, the research could help engineers develop coatings that are less likely to degrade with time.

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Source: Copyright Minerals, Metals & Materials Society Jun 2002

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