Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have developed a durable thermal insulation material based on multilayer Mylar, intended for future lunar bases. The portal SciTechDaily reports this, according to infohub.kz.
Temperatures on the Moon swing from hundreds of degrees below zero to the boiling point of water, so habitation modules need reliable protection. Conventional space insulators such as aerogels crumble easily under impact and during transport, while standard multilayer insulation tears easily. To solve the problem, the scientists stacked hundreds of thin sheets of Mylar — a tough polyester film used in food packaging and in the shiny emergency blankets handed out to marathon runners.
To increase stiffness, some of the films were coated with an ultrathin layer of aluminum oxide. In laboratory tests in vacuum, the material delivered thermal insulation on par with the best space-grade counterparts while remaining flexible.
Samples were compressed ten times in a row under a pressure of about 20 megapascals — comparable to roughly 90 kilograms concentrated on the area of a fingertip. The stacks withstood the load without losing their protective properties.
The researchers also found that microscopic particles on the film's surface, which industry adds to keep layers from sticking together, play a key role in retaining heat. For now the scientists assemble samples about one square centimeter in size by hand with tweezers, but they plan to move to roll-to-roll production in the future to insulate spacesuits, lunar rovers and habitation stations.