Space vs. materials – orbital testing outside Space Station

Space leaves its mark on materials: exposure to such a harsh environment can darken, crack or crater their surfaces – or even erode them away entirely. The nothingness of hard vacuum can also provoke ‘outgassing’ vapours from materials that might degrade delicate mission systems. Accordingly ESA and the French space agency CNES are giving European researchers the chance to pit the latest aerospace materials directly against space.