The lightweight resilient aerogel will improve the human comfort of thermal insulation required for high performance spacesuits for exploration systems. The material developed in this program will have a variety of applications in the aerospace industry and within NASA. Insulation in EVA suits, habitats, gloves, footwear, and helmets could utilize the new aerogel materials. The resilient aerogels will provide thermal and radiation protection in various environments from liquid nitrogen temperatures to +200¿C, under air, water and vacuum conditions. The novel materials can be easily designed to provide different resilience and toughness and could be used for different areas of the space suit or in garments. The excellent durability of the rubbery aerogels facilitates their use in applications for difficult vibration and acoustic environments.
The resulting insulation system developed from this program will also have far reaching effects in both military and commercial applications. Other potential applications include use as insulation in commercial and military aircraft, cryogenic tanks, liquefied gas transport, dive suits, gloves, footwear, systems for warming, storing, and/or transporting food and medicine, sleeping bags and pads, military and recreational tents, etc. The new resilient aerogels can be recycled for use as impact modifiers and/or filler materials for conventional plastics.
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