Innovative New Cooling System Facilitates Space Travel
By Victoria Birk Hill April 15, 2019
An innovative new method to cool spacecraft on long missions, technology that may one day play a crucial role in NASA’s quest to send astronauts to Mars and other deep-space destinations, has proven successful in a long-term experiment aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The research is paving the way for an orbital test of a more complex version of the cooling system in 2021.
Developed by a team of WPI mechanical engineers in the MHT labs, the system uses electrically charged fluids to absorb and carry heat away from electronics and other heat-generating equipment. With no moving parts, the technology’s simplicity and reliability make it an attractive option for long-duration space missions that will take astronauts far from the security of their home planet. Read more.
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