Simulating Space’s Harshest Conditions

When NASA designs new technologies, their engineers must consider both the intense heat of the sun and the severe cold of deep space. A new project, called Strofio, aims to withstand both extreme conditions while onboard a 2014 European Space Agency mission.

Researchers at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama are using Strofio to simulate the severe heat of the sun so they can use the information to protect satellites from burning out. The facility features a wall of 144, hexagonally-shaped mirror segments, which capture the emitted energy and focuses it into a vacuum chamber at the mirror's focal point.

At the same time, engineers at NASA's Southwest Research Institute have installed a liquid-nitrogen shroud inside a vacuum chamber, allowing them to bring the chamber down to the frigid temperatures of deep space. At this facility, the mirrors are heated to sun-like temperatures on the front, while being cooled by the liquid nitrogen in the back.

Together, NASA says they can "accurately mimic the conditions of space" and gain understanding on how their instrument will perform on the mission. Do you think these experiments will be able to accurately prepare equipment for the realities of space?

Source: NASA News & Features