| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2023 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Materials Research in Reduced Gravity
|
| Presentation Title |
ESA’s Materials Science in Space Program: Current State of Affairs and Outlook |
| Author(s) |
Wilhelmus H. Sillekens |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Wilhelmus H. Sillekens |
| Abstract Scope |
For decades the European Space Agency (ESA) has (co)-developed and employed a suite of platforms and experimental facilities enabling scientists to conduct space-relevant investigations for the physical as well as for the life sciences. These platforms include drop towers, parabolic flights, sounding rockets, and the International Space Station (ISS), each with their particular features and hence application areas. The current communication gives an overview of ESA’s materials science in space program, primarily relying on the attribute that the mentioned platforms provide strongly reduced gravity (up and into the microgravity domain), which provides notable assets for the study of solidification physics and the determination of thermophysical properties of metallic and other materials in the liquid and the undercooled state. Starting from the scientific drivers behind the investigations at hand, the program and its implementation status are outlined. Achievements to date and the next anticipated activities are addressed as well. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Solidification, Characterization, |