Now | Developments of Space Materials

            It is nice to speculate what materials may be used in space construction and travel.  And, although many of the materials discussed, could be plausible building components in space, the fact of the matter is they are fictional.  Most of the materials used in the discussed films created an ambience.  In reality, s high number of space disasters happen due to material failures and much consideration much be given in their research and development for space construction. 
           
            A zero-gravity environment provides a variety of issues that challenge space research in creating adaptable and correlating resilient materials.  Problems and issues that space researches are left to deal with such as: UV radiation, electron and proton radiation, vacuum effects, atomic oxygen, micrometeorites, space debris from other space vehicles and satellites, and thermal cycling are the environmental effects, must be dealt with accordingly. The environment is also extremely dynamic due to shadowing from the earth, solar volatility and variability, and intensification and acceleration of the proton and electron radiation from the earth's spatially varying magnetosphere. (Berman, Cerbus & Anderl)

            All materials are tested in stimulated zero-gravity environments, or vacuum chambers.  This is the first step in certifying any material as space hardware.  After materials have been successfully tested in these stimulated environments, they are then sent out in orbit on flight tests, to further examine there qualities and potential idiosyncrasies.  This process inhibits the further development of space materials, due to the fact that flight tests are costly and even the smallest alteration requires real environment exposure.

            The basic qualities of space-durable materials involve light weightiness, (for cost reduction); resistance to ionizing radiation, (acceleration of atoms in matter) and highly thermally stable.  Because of the lengthy list of environmental obstacles, the majority of space materials are multifunctional. Much research goes into creating combination materials that for instance are thermally stable, have radiation shielding and are self healing.  Materials like these, decrease the cost of space construction, in that on material may be used that responds to a variety of environmental conditions. It seems that, nano-materials are favoured in space material research because they reduce volume weight and energy consumption. Nanotubes are examples of these types of materials; they simultaneously increase the mechanical strength of a substance, but also increase its conductivity.