Euro Material Ageing facility—to get a better understanding about how material ages beyond Earth’s atmosphere, up to 45 samples are set to spend a minimum of six months exposed to the harsh space environment. Clamped between two aluminium plates, 20 mm of their exposed surface copes with radiation, vacuum, temperature extremes and even space debris. The structure is a single box with a lid housing the samples for outward transport. Image courtesy of CNES.

jsc2022e093066 (12/14/2022) --- The goal of the Euro Material Ageing facility is to get a better understanding about how materials age beyond Earth’s atmosphere. Up to 45 samples are set to spend a minimum of six months exposed to the harsh space environment. Clamped between two aluminum plates, 20 mm of their exposed surface copes with radiation, vacuum, temperature extremes and even space debris. The structure is a single box with a lid housing the samples for outward transport. Image courtesy of CNES.

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