Aerospace

Graphene Flagship Partners University of Cambridge (UK) and Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB, Belgium) collaborated with the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC, United Arab Emirates) and the European Space Agency (ESA) to test graphene on the Moon. This joint effort sees the involvement of many international partners, such as Airbus Defense and Space, Khalifa University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Technische Universität Dortmund, University of Oslo, and Tohoku University.

The MASER15 launch. Credit: John-Charles Dupin/Eurekalert

The Rashid rover is planned to be launched today (30 November 2022) from Cape Canaveral in Florida and will land on a geologically rich and, as yet, only remotely explored area on the Moon’s nearside – the side that always faces the Earth. During one lunar day, equivalent to approximately 14 days on Earth, Rashid will move on the lunar surface investigating interesting geological features.

Advanced Material Development (AMD) has announced that it has signed a contract for collaborative work with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for AMD’s proprietary thin-film graphene-based coatings technology - a Radio Frequency absorbing nanomaterial that can be applied to a variety of substrates. JPL is a research and development laboratory federally funded by NASA and managed by the California Institute of Technology.

Image from AMD website, Courtesy of NASA/JPL-CalTech

The collaborative work is planned to be used for the NASA Europa Clipper spacecraft electromagnetic compatibility test campaign. AMD’s materials could help enable the Europa Clipper project to confirm that the spacecraft’s sensitive ice-penetrating radar will operate properly at key frequencies so as to meet science objectives.

a collaboration between Sparc Technologies, Swinburne University and Composite Materials Engineering focuses on smart composite structures to help engineers detect structural defects in planes and rockets before they cause disaster. The industry-linked project will create graphene-enabled smart composites for aviation, aerospace and renewable energy.

The project was funded by an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Grant from the Federal Government, with over AUD$1 million (around USD $640,000) invested across Swinburne University, the government and industry partners.

The Malaysian Rubber Council (MRC) has high hopes for its new aerospace balloon, made of a combination of graphene extract and natural rubber. The MRC's CEO, Nor Hizwan Ahmad, said the research and collaboration carried out by Meditech Gloves Sdn Bhd and Cranfield University in the United Kingdom has shown huge potential through the application of this product and findings.

The MRC CEO said the evolution from plantation to the aerospace industry is a great achievement for Malaysia’s rubber industry. He also said the aerospace balloon made of graphene extract and infused into natural rubber is new in the market and patented by Levidian Nanosystems.

Greece-based Pleione Energy has worked with ESA on a project to industrialize the production of Li-ion battery electrodes incorporating graphene as their main active material, producing in the tens of meters at a time.

These negative electrodes were used for Li-ion battery cells that were produced and tested according to European Cooperation for Space Standardization, ECSS, standards, representing space-ready quality.

Swedish graphene-solutions provider Graphmatech has partnered with 3D printer manufacturer Wematter to enhance polymer powders with graphene, to make them electrically- and thermally conductive, improve processibility, and more.

Together, the two startups will develop an electrically conductive powder, tailored for Gravity the SLS 3D printer by Wematter. The high-performance powder will enable Telecommunications, Aerospace and Automotive manufacturers to print parts with improved or maintained mechanical properties whilst achieving electrostatic dissipative (ESD), shielding, or even lower resistivity, performance.

Scientists at Arizona State University (ASU) have developed a graphene-metal hybrid material that can help achieve ultrafast optical modulation. The work represents the world’s first demonstration of ultrafast optical modulation at mid-infrared wavelengths using the graphene-metal hybrid material.

The group’s design could enable new or improved applications in satellite communications and ultrafast molecular spectroscopy to study chemicals and molecules and advance biomedical diagnostics, remote sensing and astronomical applications — for example, in research being conducted on-site on the moon or Mars.

Canada-based Nova Graphene has been awarded two contracts by Canada’s Department of National Defense's Innovation for Defense Excellence and Security (IDEaS) program, to develop graphene-enhanced materials to protect helicopter rotors from erosion & wear due to exposure to sand, ice, and water.

The ability to fly in degraded visual environments (e.g., rain or sand storms) is operationally advantageous, but tends to result in increased damage to the aircraft, especially erosion damage to the rotary wing blades. Each rotary wing blade has an integral leading edge erosion strip, which when damaged requires the replacement of the entire blade.

Earlier this month, SpaceX launched its Fourth Transporter mission. As a result, in about two months, experiments designed by university students from the Netherlands and Chile, and using graphene test devices manufactured by Applied Nanolayers, will probe the impact of real-space travel and direct space exposure on conductive graphene devices for the first time.

Applied Nanolayers and Technical University of Delft module specialists worked together on the specification of graphene materials and the physical devices required for space flight qualification. The resulting devices will test how graphene components withstand the vibration, radiation and temperature conditions of space, and the data generated will be used to give device developers verified graphene performance data to aid device design. Graphene’s ability to improve the sensitivity and accuracy of sensors used for navigation and astronomical observation is crucially important for future space travel.

Haydale has announced that it has been awarded funding of £186,403 by Innovate UK, the UK's innovation agency, to develop smart composite tooling for the aerospace industry using functionalized nanomaterials.

The ESENSE project (Out-of-autoclave self-heated tooling enabling temperature homogeneity and embedded graphene sensors) aims to enhance out-of-autoclave (OOA) manufacturing processes with monitoring and through-life sensing capabilities using Haydale's patented HDPlas functionalization process to develop high temperature inks and pressure sensors. The project is due to start in April 2022 and is expected to run for 24 months.