New metamaterial developed for cooling spacecraft

摘要

A pan-European consortium has developed a new type of metamaterial surface coating to assist in the thermal control of spacecraft.Known as metamaterial Optical Solar Reflectors (meta-OSRs), the coatings are designed to reject solar radiation while atthe same time dissipating the heat that is generated on-board satellites and space vehicles.Currently, OSRs are usually made of quartz tilesthat combine thermo-optical properties with an ability to withstand the environment in space. However, these tiles are heavy and fragile, adding significantly to launch weight. Furthermore, they cannot be applied to curved surfaces.The team, which includes researchers from the University of Southampton, patterned metal oxide into a metamaterial with very strong infrared emissivity while retaining a low absorption of the solar spectrum.