Materials in Space – Science, Technology and Exploration: Volume 551 (MRS Proceedings)

This symposium was held to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); it was also the 25th anniversary of the Materials Research Society. The coincidence of anniversaries provided an excellent opportunity to consider how materials science has contributed to the space program, and how it will continue to contribute to the future of space exploration. Living and working in space presents extreme challenges that have only begun to be met by the materials research community. This book brings together researchers from government, industry and university laboratories to discuss successes and ongoing research in the application of materials science to the space program. Topics include: space exploration; space photovoltaics; materials for energy conversion and storage; fundamental studies for advanced materials and devices; microgravity materials processing; and materials for space and other hostile environments. Commercial spin-offs from past space-related materials research are also featured.