The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has developed a "space fabric" seen to protect astronauts whenever they are in space for exploration, especially when they are bound to study Jupiter's moon Europa.
Reports have revealed that with the materials used in producing the special textile, it could be among the best products that could protect the NASA team from whatever elements in space and even on other planets. It was also noted that apart from providing protection to the astronauts, it could likewise protect the spacecraft and devices.
What could be the characteristics of the space fabric that makes it such an awesome protection for NASA's astronauts and spacecraft? Accordingly, it boasts of four "essential functions." These are reflectivity, passive heat management, foldability and tensile strength.
It was explained that with one side reflecting light and the other absorbing it, the metal fabric becomes an effective means of thermal control. Meanwhile, it can fold in different ways while maintaining its tensile strength.
Developed by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Systems Engineer and a son of a Spanish fashion designer, Polit Casillas, the space fabric can only be printed with the use of a 3-D printer.
However, Casillas pointed out in a statement that what it used to come up with this new invention is actually 4-D printing.
"We call it '4-D printing' because we can print both the geometry and the function of these materials," he said. "If 20th Century manufacturing was driven by mass production, then this is the mass production of functions."
This creation is no longer new for Casillas. His bunch of works in the past is enough proof of the engineer's ingenuity. He also co-leads JPL's Atelier workshop that specializes in the production of advanced concepts and systems prototypes.
This latest NASA news is said to be a welcome development for the astronauts who continuously explore space and other planets, including one of Jupiter's moon, which reportedly would be a future destination.