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Astronauts attached hundreds of material samples to the outside of the International Space Station and left them exposed to space for years
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Alteon lemmy.world Alteon@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-30
Quote

This image is from Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) 2, part of STS-105 mission in 2001. Full report is at https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20070002707/downloads/20070002707.pdf

269   Original
hobata lemmy.ml hobata@lemmy.ml
Joined: 2025-05-06
#2 · Quote Reply

your girlfriend's makeup case

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givesomefucks lemmy.world givesomefucks@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-30
#3 · Quote Reply

Held up better than whatever the screws were made out of...

/s

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graycube lemmy.world graycube@lemmy.world
Joined: 2024-06-22
#4 · Quote Reply

The paper says 41 samples, not "hundreds".

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hamsamrich lemmy.world hamsamrich@lemmy.world
Joined: 2026-08-18
#5 · Quote Reply

Held up better than whatever the screws were made out of... /s

HA!

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Mark with a Z suppo.fi markz@suppo.fi
Joined: 2025-07-04
#6 · Quote Reply

The paper says 41 samples, not "hundreds".

0,41 hundred

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bananabenana lemmy.world bananabenana@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-07-15
#7 · Quote Reply

Very cool experiment. I love the idea of cosmic erosion. Space is truly a hostile environment in every aspect.

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zarathustrad lemmy.world zarathustrad@lemmy.world
Joined: 2024-06-04
#8 · Quote Reply

The paper says 41 samples, not "hundreds".

That's 10 more than Baskin Robbins.

So, take that big ice cream!

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Crozekiel lemmy.zip Crozekiel@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2023-07-22
#9 · Quote Reply

I would love this even more if that picture was labelled. Still neat tho.

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Zephyr sh.itjust.works Zephyr@sh.itjust.works
Joined: 2026-06-11
#10 · Quote Reply

Most materials just left out in the sun in my backyard break down like this. I can only imagine the cold of space coupled with the full blast of the suns radiation.

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postmateDumbass lemmy.world postmateDumbass@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-13
#11 · Quote Reply

Very cool experiment. I love the idea of cosmic erosion. Space is truly a hostile environment in every aspect.

So what are the loss paths here?

Sublimation?

Cosmic ray ionization?

Particles escaping the atmosphere reacting chemically?

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texture lemmy.world texture@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-12-19
#12 · Quote Reply

i got my ex a pallet like this for her bday

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Noite_Etion lemmy.world Noite_Etion@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-09-09
#13 · Quote Reply

Just wanted to know what each of these samples were made of

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Buddahriffic lemmy.world Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-30
#14 · Quote Reply

So what are the loss paths here? Sublimation? Cosmic ray ionization? Particles escaping the atmosphere reacting chemically?

Astronauts developed a habit of rubbing one sample during each spacewalk for luck?

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CocaineShrimp sh.itjust.works CocaineShrimp@sh.itjust.works
Joined: 2025-06-30
#15 · (edited) Quote Reply

Just wanted to know what each of these samples were made of

Interesting! Most interesting ones I saw at a glance:

  • Plexiglass looks like it turns to powder
  • Teflon is almost visually unaffected
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Buddahriffic lemmy.world Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-30
#16 · Quote Reply

Just wanted to know what each of these samples were made of

Did your source have anything at all about the first 5 ones? Those 4 with the metal frame looking things intruiged me the most.

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nightwatch_admin lemmy.world nightwatch_admin@lemmy.world
Joined: 2026-03-17
#17 · Quote Reply

I would love this even more if that picture was labelled. Still neat tho.

Labels vaporised before the picture was taken

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huquad lemmy.ml huquad@lemmy.ml
Joined: 2023-07-08
#18 · Quote Reply

So what are the loss paths here? Sublimation? Cosmic ray ionization? Particles escaping the atmosphere reacting chemically?

Main ones are UV and atomic oxygen. There's not a lot of atmosphere at the ISS altitude, but it's still there and you're flying past it at ~18000 mph, so it comes in hot.

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M137 lemmy.world M137@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-09-05
#19 · Quote Reply

[removed by moderator]
-10
WolfLink sh.itjust.works WolfLink@sh.itjust.works
Joined: 2024-06-06
#20 · Quote Reply

Just wanted to know what each of these samples were made of

TLDR mostly different types of plastic

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Noite_Etion lemmy.world Noite_Etion@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-09-09
#21 · Quote Reply

Did your source have anything at all about the first 5 ones? Those 4 with the metal frame looking things intruiged me the most.

It's just pulled from OPs link, didn't go through the whole report sorry.

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Crackhappy lemmy.world Crackhappy@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-09
#22 · Quote Reply

Most materials just left out in the sun in my backyard break down like this. I can only imagine the cold of space coupled with the full blast of the suns radiation.

Space is not cold.

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Zephyr sh.itjust.works Zephyr@sh.itjust.works
Joined: 2026-06-11
#23 · (edited) Quote Reply

Space is not cold.

I mean yeah the concept of temperature doesn't really make sense when talking about empty space. That said irl space is anything but empty. There's at least a perpetual quantum fizz of virtual particles popping in and out of existence. The average temperature of stuff in space is about 2.7K which is really freaking cold.

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Successful_Try543 feddit.org Successful_Try543@feddit.org
Joined: 2024-06-22
#24 · Quote Reply

TLDR mostly different types of plastic

That's what the name of the study "Polymer Erosion And Contamination Experiment" implies.

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Successful_Try543 feddit.org Successful_Try543@feddit.org
Joined: 2024-06-22
#25 · Quote Reply

The paper says 41 samples, not "hundreds".

41 is the number of polymers tested in the PEACE, the whole MISSE program involves several material classes with more than 1000 samples.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Materials_International_Space_Station_Experiment

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Successful_Try543 feddit.org Successful_Try543@feddit.org
Joined: 2024-06-22
#26 · Quote Reply

I mean yeah the concept of temperature doesn't really make sense when talking about empty space. That said irl space is anything but empty. There's at least a perpetual quantum fizz of virtual particles popping in and out of existence. The average temperature of stuff in space is about 2.7K which is really freaking cold.

Space itself is cold, but any surface subjected to radiation, e.g. sunlight, becomes hot.

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azuth sh.itjust.works freeman@sh.itjust.works
Joined: 2023-08-15
#27 · Quote Reply

I mean yeah the concept of temperature doesn't really make sense when talking about empty space. That said irl space is anything but empty. There's at least a perpetual quantum fizz of virtual particles popping in and out of existence. The average temperature of stuff in space is about 2.7K which is really freaking cold.

Space is not anything but empty, its not totally empty.

So the "stuff" might be at 2.7K but it won't be able to absorb much energy from a hot object. Which is why cooling is an issue in space and not freezing.

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Successful_Try543 feddit.org Successful_Try543@feddit.org
Joined: 2024-06-22
#28 · (edited) Quote Reply

Did your source have anything at all about the first 5 ones? Those 4 with the metal frame looking things intruiged me the most.

Specimen #1 to #5 are silicone O-rings, #6 is an acousto-optic Atomic Oxygen scattering chamber (for measuring the radiation?).

The PEACE Polymer samples start in the top row, 6th sample position from the
left (i.e. ABS, with serial number 2-E5-6, represents a sample in MISSE Passive Experiment
Container (PEC) 2, tray E5, sample position 6). Five other samples (4 DC 93-500 silicone
samples and 1 AO scattering chamber) were also on this tray, in positions 2-E5-1 through
2-E5-5.

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gmtom lemmy.world gmtom@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-26
#29 · Quote Reply

Where can I buy this eyeshadow pallette?

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my_hat_stinks programming.dev my_hat_stinks@programming.dev
Joined: 2023-08-09
#30 · (edited) Quote Reply

[removed by moderator]

The 42nd sample would be one of the ones on this tray, considering this tray alone held 46 samples 41 of which were related to this experiment. Are you sure you can count and read? The abstract linked also quite clearly states that MISSE PEACE (ie the polymer one you see in the image) was part of a broader MISSE 2 experiment. If you bothered to read the paper you'd even have seen an image of it in context with other materials.

MISSE 2 alone had 456 samples, if you count other MISSE experiments you hit thousands.

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Otter lemmy.ca otter@lemmy.ca
Joined: 2023-06-05
#31 · (edited) Quote Reply

[removed by moderator]

This feels like an unnecessarily rude comment for something minor. Just point out the issue and ask them to fix it. For example:

@Alteon@lemmy.world, the report says that there were 41 samples and not hundreds. Please fix the title in your post to keep it accurate.

Turns out the title might not even be wrong, sorry for bothering you Alteon

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Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In lemmy.world Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-18
#32 · Quote Reply

So is Crystalline Polyvinyl fluoride with white pigment what starships should be coated in?

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winkerjadams lemmy.dbzer0.com winkerjadams@lemmy.dbzer0.com
Joined: 2023-06-22
#33 · Quote Reply

TLDR mostly different types of plastic

Kevlar is my favorite

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MonkderVierte lemmy.zip MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2025-05-30
#34 · Quote Reply

[removed by moderator]

Bad day?

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SaveTheTuaHawk lemmy.ca SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca
Joined: 2025-03-07
#35 · Quote Reply

Kevlar is my favorite

Kevlar is a brand name, aramid fiber is the material.
And Kleenexs are paper tissue.

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SaveTheTuaHawk lemmy.ca SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca
Joined: 2025-03-07
#36 · Quote Reply

So what are the loss paths here? Sublimation? Cosmic ray ionization? Particles escaping the atmosphere reacting chemically?

Reactive oxygen, UV and ozone.

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SaveTheTuaHawk lemmy.ca SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca
Joined: 2025-03-07
#37 · Quote Reply

Where can I buy this eyeshadow pallette?

Sara Huckabee?

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SaveTheTuaHawk lemmy.ca SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca
Joined: 2025-03-07
#38 · Quote Reply

Interesting! Most interesting ones I saw at a glance: Plexiglass looks like it turns to powder Teflon is almost visually unaffected

I could have told you that on earth.

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musicalphysics discuss.online musicalphysics@discuss.online
Joined: 2026-01-12
#39 · Quote Reply

It would’ve been great if metallic samples were included. It is common to coat with gold but gold gets very hot. I pushed for some time with my local engineers to use aluminum instead for space hardware but there isn’t much specific data on aluminum exposure in space.

1
musicalphysics discuss.online musicalphysics@discuss.online
Joined: 2026-01-12
#40 · (edited) Quote Reply

Most materials just left out in the sun in my backyard break down like this. I can only imagine the cold of space coupled with the full blast of the suns radiation.

Deep space is cold. The ionosphere where the ISS is doesn’t really get below 800 k. Plus anything exposed to the sun gets very hot. Cooling the ISS is the primary thermal activity, not heating.

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BarneyPiccolo lemmy.today BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today
Joined: 2025-06-30
#41 · Quote Reply

Kevlar is a brand name, aramid fiber is the material. And Kleenexs are paper tissue.

I once saw a Velcro demonstration at Epcot, and it was clear that they were paying Disney a fortune so they could make the legal claim that they were vigorously defending their Velcro trademark by trying to convince consumers that they should use the phrase "hook & loop fastening system" instead of saying Velcro. Sure we will, it rolls right off the tongue.

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winkerjadams lemmy.dbzer0.com winkerjadams@lemmy.dbzer0.com
Joined: 2023-06-22
#42 · Quote Reply

Kevlar is a brand name, aramid fiber is the material. And Kleenexs are paper tissue.

Right but if I said aramid nobody would know what that is and if I say kevlar everyone knows. That's why I said it instead of the scientific name that nobody colloquially knows

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siravious lemmy.world siravious@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-07-23
#43 · Quote Reply

That's 10 more than Baskin Robbins. So, take that big ice cream!

🤣

1
Alteon Moderator Alteon@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-30
#44 · Quote Reply

This feels like an unnecessarily rude comment for something minor. Just point out the issue and ask them to fix it. For example: @Alteon@lemmy.world, the report says that there were 41 samples and not hundreds. Please fix the title in your post to keep it accurate. Turns out the title might not even be wrong, sorry for bothering you Alteon

No worries boss. :)

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Honytawk discuss.tchncs.de Honytawk@discuss.tchncs.de
Joined: 2026-02-20
#45 · Quote Reply

Space is not cold.

Nah, space is cold, but it is also a extremely good insulator.

Because you'd need molecules to bounce off of things in order to transfer energy. No molecules means no heat transfer.

So a hot pan in space could stay hot for months.

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Successful_Try543 feddit.org Successful_Try543@feddit.org
Joined: 2024-06-22
#46 · (edited) Quote Reply

Right but if I said aramid nobody would know what that is and if I say kevlar everyone knows. That's why I said it instead of the scientific name that nobody colloquially knows

In addition, aramide fibers aren't generally Kevlar. Thus, calling them by the brand name Kevlar (p-aramide fiber or the exact chemical name as given in the table) is actually more precise.

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JigglySackles lemmy.world JigglySackles@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-13
#47 · Quote Reply

Just wanted to know what each of these samples were made of

Lol I like how 3d printing has me familiar with a number of these plastics

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