Material ageing experiments with passive samples onboard the International Space Station

Abstract

This paper focuses on the ESA contribution to the Euro Material Ageing (EMA) mission, launched in November 2024, performing material science experiments on the exterior of the International Space Station (ISS). The paper provides a review of previous experiments on materials ageing in Low Earth Orbit, followed by a summary of the scientific experiments that are part of the EMA experiment and describes the pre- and post-mission analysis plan for 63 passive samples provided by the European Space Agency. The ground-based pre-flight preparatory work is also described, using testing facilities of the European Space Agency to de-risk the mission outcome and anticipate a material degradation caused by the space environment effects, such as atomic oxygen, UV radiation or high vacuum. Additionally, the paper briefly presents the concept and the payload characteristics as the aim of this paper is to introduce the mission and its objectives and to increase awareness about possibilities to participate in future in-space testing campaigns coordinated by ESA.