Graphene in Zero-G promises success in space
In a successful collaboration between the Graphene Flagship and the European Space Agency, experiments testing graphene for two different space-related applications have shown extremely promising results. Based on these results, the Flagship are continuing to develop graphene devices for use in space.
It was amazing, the feeling is incredible ... The whole experience was really great"
student at Université Libre de Bruxelles
"Graphene as we know has a lot of opportunities. One of them, recognised early on, is space applications, and this is the first time that graphene has been tested in space-like applications, worldwide," said Prof. Andrea Ferrari (University of Cambridge, UK), Science and Technology Officer of the Graphene Flagship.
Graphene's excellent thermal properties are promising for improving the performance of loop heat pipes, thermal management systems used in aerospace and satellite applications. Graphene could also have a use in space propulsion, due to its lightness and strong interaction with light. The Graphene Flagship tested both these applications in recent experiments in November and December 2017.
The main element of the loop heat pipe is the metallic wick, where heat is transferred from a hot object into a fluid, which cools the system. Two different types of graphene were tested in a collaboration between the Microgravity Research Centre, Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium; the Cambridge Graphene Centre, University of Cambridge, UK; the Institute for Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity and the Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems, both at the National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Italy; and industry partner Leonardo Spa, Italy, a global leader in aerospace, operating in space systems and high-tech instrument manufacturing and in the management of launch and in-orbit services and satellite services.
"We are aiming at an increased lifetime and an improved autonomy of the satellites and space probes. By adding graphene, we will have a more reliable loop heat pipe, capable to operate autonomously in space," said Dr Marco Molina, Chief Technical Officer of Leonardo's space line of business.
After excellent results in laboratory tests, the wicks for the loop heat pipes were tested in two ESA parabolic flight campaigns in November and December. "We have good tests done on earth in the lab, and now of course because the applications will be in satellites, we needed to see how the wicks perform in low gravity conditions and also in hypergravity conditions, to simulate a satellite launch," added Prof Ferrari.
"It was amazing, the feeling is incredible and its extremely interesting to do experiments in these kinds of conditions but also to enjoy the free-floating zone. The whole experience was really great," said Vanja Miskovic, a student at Université libre de Bruxelles who performed the experiment in microgravity during a parabolic flight operated by Novespace.
The results of the parabolic flight confirm the improvements to the wick, and the Flagship will continue to develop the graphene-based heat pipes towards a commercial product. "I think this is a very nice example of how the Flagship is working. Bringing together three academic partners and one big industry with a clearly defined goal for an application," said Vincenzo Palermo (CNR), Vice-Director of the Graphene Flagship. "At the moment, we have tested the principle and the core of the device. The next step will be to optimise the whole device, and have a full heat pipe that can go in a satellite."
We are aiming at an increased lifetime and an improved autonomy of the satellites and space probes"
Chief Technical Officer of Leonardo
Testing graphene space-propulsion potential, a team of PhD students from Delft Technical University (TU Delft), Netherlands participated in ESA's Drop Your Thesis! campaign, which offers students the chance to perform an experiment in microgravity at the ZARM Drop Tower in Bremen, Germany. To create extreme microgravity conditions, down to one millionth of the Earth's gravitational force, a capsule containing the experiment is catapulted up and down the 146 metre tower, leading to 9.3 seconds of weightlessness. The TU Delft Space Institute, Netherlands, also provided support to the GrapheneX project.
The team – named GrapheneX – designed and built an experiment to test graphene for use in solar sails, using free-floating graphene membranes provided by Flagship partner Graphenea. The idea was to test how the graphene membranes would behave under radiation pressure from lasers. In total, the experiment ran five times over 13-17 November 2017.
"Our experiment is like a complex 'clockwork' where every component has to go off seamlessly at the right time" said Rocco Gaudenzi, a member of the GrapheneX team. "It does not often happen that you have to build up such a clockwork from scratch, and you cannot test it in real conditions but during the launch itself."
The team worked hard to make the experiment successful. "Despite the initial technical difficulties, we managed to quickly figure out what was going on, fix the issues and get back on track. We are very happy with the results of the experiment as we observed laser-induced motion of a graphene light sail, and most importantly we had a great experience!" said Davide Stefani, GrapheneX team member.
Santiago J. Cartamil-Bueno, GrapheneX team leader, expressed that both the experience and the results were valuable to the team. "The most important lesson is that always something will happen, and you need to be ready to adapt or to change," he said. "I think at the end of the day, it's about the experience; you just need to create new challenges and learn from them, and be ready to grab more experience and go to the next level."
Though the GrapheneX experiment is now finished, the team is considering further tests as part of a new and ambitious research project, to continue exploring the influence of radiation pressure on graphene light sails.
The results of the two projects demonstrate graphene's versatility and are the first step towards expanding the frontiers of graphene research.
Additional Information
More detailed explanations of each experiment and blogs from the researchers can be found:
High resolution images can be found in the Graphene Flagship image library at:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/151519747@N06/albums/72157688233889331
Graphene
Graphene is one of the most interesting and versatile materials known to date. The world's first two-dimensional material, this single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice has a set of unique and outstanding properties. As well as being the thinnest, strongest and lightest material, graphene is flexible, impermeable to molecules and extremely electrically and thermally conductive. As the world strives to maintain its pace of innovation, graphene has much to offer.
Graphene is helping to facilitate the next generation of technology. For example, the strong and flexible nature of graphene makes flexible displays and bendable batteries possible. Its excellent sensing ability can be used in the next generation of wearable electronics and to develop building blocks for the internet of things. Graphene's unique combination of properties coupled with its ease of incorporation into composite materials mean that it can enhance the composite world. Graphene is also paving the way for novel diagnosis and treatments such as in the realm of drug delivery and biosensors. Graphene-based technologies are proving integral to the new generation of communications, such as 5G, enabling high performance optical communication systems through ultra-fast and compact optoelectronic devices.
About the European Space Agency Education Programme
The European Space Agency (ESA) Education Programme has the objective to inspire and motivate young people to enhance their literacy and competence in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM disciplines), and to pursue a career in these fields, in the space domain in particular. To this end, it offers a number of exciting activities that range from training and classroom activities that use space as a teaching and learning context for school teachers and pupils, to real space projects for university students.
http://www.esa.int/Education/Drop_Your_Thesis
About the European Space Agency
The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe's gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe's space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
ESA is one of the few space agencies in the world to combine responsibility in nearly all areas of space activity: from Earth observation, space science, human spaceflight, exploration and launchers to navigation, telecommunications, technology and operations.
ESA is an international organisation with 22 Member States. By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, it can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country.
About the Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM)
The Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM) is a research institute of the University of Bremen focused on the investigation of gravity-dependent phenomena and space-related research. With a height of 146 meters the Bremen Drop Tower is the main laboratory of ZARM and the only laboratory of this kind in Europe. It offers the opportunity for short-term experiments in weightlessness and has acquired international renown during the last 25 years for offering microgravity conditions of the highest quality. Owing to the catapult system, a construction developed by ZARM engineers, the experiment duration has been extended to 9.3 seconds - unmatched by any other drop facility worldwide.
Due to its excellent microgravity conditions scientists from all over the world visit the Bremen Drop Tower in order to experiment in different fields of fundamental research like astrophysics, biology, chemistry, combustion, fluid dynamics, fundamental physics, and materials sciences or to conduct technology tests preparing and qualifying hardware for future space missions.
About Novespace
A subsidiary of CNES (French Spatial Study National Center), Novespace was established in 1986 for the purpose of promoting micro-weightlessness as a tool for scientific experimentation. After more than 130 parabolic flight campaigns carried out from 1988 to 1996 on board the Caravelle Zero G, Novespace took the Airbus A300 ZERO-G into service in 1997, replaced by an Airbus A310 in 2014, owned by Novespace.
Based at the Bordeaux-Mérignac airport zone, Novespace organizes an average of six parabolic flight campaigns annually, principally for the account of space agencies (CNES, ESA, DLR, JAXA, etc.) within the framework of their scientific and technological research programmes. The company also used the A300 ZERO-G for missions for observing atmospheric re-entry of the Cryotechnic Main Stage (CMS) of the Ariane 5 rocket.
Novespace has carried out more than 130 parabolic flight campaigns on board the A300 ZERO-G and its successor the A310 ZERO-G and more than 13000 parabolas. This is equivalent to 80 hours of accumulated weightlessness.