Washington, November 20 (ANI): A team of NASA engineers has created a highly porous, sprayable coating that that attracts and then traps outgassed contaminants that harm spacecraft components. <\/p>\n
Outgassing - the physical process that creates that oh-so-alluring new car smell - isn't healthy for humans and, as it turns out, not particularly wholesome for sensitive satellite instruments, either. <\/p>\n
Outgassed solvents, epoxies, lubricants, and other materials aren't especially wholesome for contamination-sensitive telescope mirrors, thermal-control units, high-voltage electronic boxes, cryogenic instruments, detectors and solar arrays, either. <\/p>\n
As a result, NASA engineers are always looking for new techniques to prevent these gases from adhering to instrument and spacecraft surfaces and potentially shortening their lives. <\/p>\n
A group of technologists has created a low-cost, easy-to-apply solution, which is more effective than current techniques. <\/p>\n
Led by Principal Investigator Sharon Straka, an engineer at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., the team has created a new, patent-pending sprayable paint that absorbs these gaseous molecules and stops them from affixing to instrument components. <\/p>\n
Made of zeolite, a mineral widely used in industry for water purification and other uses, and a colloidal silica binder that acts as the glue holding the coating together, the new molecular absorber is highly permeable and porous - attributes that trap the outgassed contaminants. Because it doesn't contain volatile organics, the material itself doesn't cause additional outgassing. <\/p>\n
\"It looks promising,\" Straka said. \"It collects significantly more contaminants than other approaches.\" <\/p>\n
Technicians can spray the paint directly onto surfaces, no extra mounting equipment is necessary. <\/p>\n
In addition, technicians can coat adhesive strips or tape and then place these pieces in strategic locations within an instrument, spacecraft cavity, or vacuum system, further simplifying absorber design. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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NASA's new sprayable paint protects spacecraft from 'harmful' new car smell<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Washington, November 20 (ANI): A team of NASA engineers has created a highly porous, sprayable coating that that attracts and then traps outgassed contaminants that harm spacecraft components. Outgassing - the physical process that creates that oh-so-alluring new car smell - isn't healthy for humans and, as it turns out, not particularly wholesome for sensitive satellite instruments, either Continue reading