Bringing Space Textiles Down to Earth

Textiles are an essential part of the space industry. Every gram sent into orbit costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, so textiles must be lightweight as well as strong, and resistant to extremes of heat, cold, and ultraviolet radiation that they never have to experience down here on Earth. With the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) recent announcement of a lunar spaceport—the Gateway Project—and manned missions to Mars being proposed by Elon Musk, the next generation of space textiles are GO.1,2 In space you find textiles everywhere, from the straps that hold you in place during take-off to the parachute on your re-entry. Diapers are in your underwear, you might work in an inflatable module on the International Space Station (ISS) and even that flag on the moon was specially designed in nylon. In space everything acts, and reacts, differently. Whether in low-gravity environments like the moon, or micro-gravity on the ISS, even the way moisture wicks away from the human body is different.