A Novel Ceramic‐Liquid Alloy Lattice Metastructure for Thermal Protection in Aerospace Applications

Extreme thermal shock in space exploration poses a critical threat to orbital spacecraft, as conventional thermal protection structures cannot concurrently resist concentrated thermal effects under shock and ensure efficient heat dissipation during routine operation. Herein, we propose a ceramic‐liquid alloy composite lattice metastructure as an integrated architecture achieved through the synergistic hybridization of a rigid ceramic framework and a functional liquid alloy, with its performance validated via integrated numerical and experimental studies. The thermal properties of the metastructure are “programmed” by designing two key geometric parameters: the fineness ratio of the lattice and the volume fraction of the liquid alloy. Through this approach, a significant enhancement in heat dissipation efficiency was achieved, along with a broadly tunable equivalent thermal conductivity ranging from 0.437 to 6.209 W/(m·K). The liquid alloy's thermotropic phase change dynamically regulates the metastructure's heat transfer behavior, thereby actively absorbing heat to suppress temperature elevation and enhance thermal shock resistance. Meanwhile, its innovative cross‐sectional design mitigates thermal stress concentration at the ceramic‐liquid alloy interface, achieving a 50% reduction in interfacial thermal stress and remarkably improving extreme temperature tolerance. This work provides a novel strategy for high‐performance thermal protection and holds great promise for revolutionizing spacecraft thermal protection system design to advance space exploration reliability.