The biggest threat to the International Space Station (ISS) comes from micrometroid effects. A small hole in the wrong place can throw resident astronauts into a fatal situation. Currently, there is no active program to monitor such effects, although scientists believe that given the ubiquity of small objects in the orbit of the ISS, they should be normal. MIT’s interdisciplinary team hopes to provide some data to support that theory, using a highly unusual effect sensor made entirely of fabric.
The exterior paneling on the ISS is covered in fabric material already known as beta fabric, which gives the space station its distinctive white color. Teflon-laced fiberglass material is designed to protect the space station from small-scale impacts. However, it does not effectively or observe where the effect has been observed, making it difficult for astronauts to determine whether a piece of fabric needs to be repaired or replaced.
Enter content designed by the team at MIT. It uses “thermally drawn acoustic fibers” that are hypersensitive to mechanical vibrations. The fabric also converts mechanical vibrations into electric energy waves using a direct piezoelectric effect. Hooking wires up to individual patches of material will be provided with a grid-like structure and will allow engineers to calculate the number and size of impacts affecting the fabric.
Samples of these highly sensitive fabrics, as well as others in which electronics are directly embedded in them, were sent to the ISS in early November. While the samples remain unpowered for now, the current 10 cm. x 10 cm switch is attached to the outer part of the ISS. The team plans to expose the specimen to the rigidity of space for a year, after which it will return to Earth and be analyzed for any changes.
Credit: Prime Space YouTube
In addition to analysis of the return sample, the team plans to launch managed versions of the textile in late 2021 or early 2022. However powerful fabrics are not only useful for detecting the effects of corrosion. The team also plans to consider other use cases for the material. Numerous applications have already been developed on the ground, but space is a new frontier for this innovative technology.
Ideas range from the discovery of cosmic dust to haptic feedback and a communication network embedded in the fabric of a space suit. Since the idea of using this cloth in space is still new, the inventors of MIT are exploring many possible options to truly understand the potential of this ground-breaking technique. If they prove the challenge, the ISS and many other permanent space-fung ring vehicles could get a whole new set of high-tech clothing.
Learn more:
MIT News – 3 Questions: Using Fabric to “Listen” to Space Dust
Habit News – MIT team sends “high-tech” cloth into space
Hackster.Io – Future astronauts thank MIT Smart Fabrics sitting on the ISS.
Lead Image Credits: Edited by JAXA / Scope MIT News
