Materials for Space Astronaut Service Robots

The importance of materials selection for advanced space applications is mainly due to the harsh space environment; indeed, high thermal gradients, several cosmic radiations, vacuum as well as orbital debris are just some of the factors that must be considered while dealing with in-space applications. An interesting application is the astronaut service robot. International space agencies all over the world are moving toward the extensive use of such robots to perform extravehicular activities (EVA) on orbiting space station, as in the International Space Station (ISS). Traditional structural materials such as Aluminum and Titanium alloys and steels are the most reliable solutions for this kind of applications, while copper-based alloys are more suitable for the manufacturing of electrical and electronic parts. More recently, advanced materials such as polymer-matrix-composites (PMC) have been used to fabricate space components, mainly to decrease the payload of the entire structure: moreover, thin polymeric layers can be used for shielding purposes. In this work, both traditional and innovative materials are presented as possible solutions for new astronaut robots manufacturing.