With NASA progressing plans for a long-term Moon Base at the lunar South Pole, the idea of permanent infrastructure beyond Earth no longer feels like science fiction
In fact, the wider space economy is forecast to grow from $630 billion in 2023 to $1.8 trillion by 2035, with conversations about space-based infrastructure, including the prospect of data centres to support rising AI compute demand, now seeping into the mainstream.
While some of this remains early-stage and technically complex, the direction is clear: space exploration is shifting from isolated missions towards sustained activity. Equipment must therefore be built to perform for longer, in demanding conditions and with safety at the forefront of design.
That creates a new challenge for designers and engineers when it comes to advanced materials manufacturing. The conversation now goes beyond building equipment that can withstand launch vibration and transit, to designing equipment and infrastructure that can perform effectively through long-term exposure to environments shaped by thermal extremes, heightened levels of radiation and microgravity.
In this context, materials specification becomes a fundamental engineering decision. The wrong material choice can add unnecessary mass, complicate assembly, release vapours that affect sensitive equipment, or degrade under conditions where access for repair is limited or impossible. Space applications leave little room for variation, making reliable, repeatable materials an absolute priority for engineers and materials manufacturers as we enter the next phase of space exploration.
RAISING THE BAR FOR RELIABILITY AND REPEATABILITY
A material may look suitable for space applications in isolation, but the real test is how it behaves once it has been cut, formed, assembled, cleaned, stored, transported and exposed to demanding conditions over extended periods of time.
Space-related materials must deliver predictable mechanical behaviour, so designers and engineers can understand how they will perform under compression, vibration, impact or temperature change. And as developing and maintaining permanent infrastructure becomes a more realistic objective, that consistency will be even more crucial. Components may need to remain stable and functional for extended periods – often in systems that are difficult to access, maintain or replace.
Materials in this sector are also assessed against strict requirements covering flammability, toxicity, outgassing, corrosion, microbiological resistance and ageing. Outgassing – that is, the release of vapours from a material – is a particularly important consideration because those vapours can affect sensitive equipment, optics, electronics or enclosed crew environments. Material performance must therefore account for factors like strength, cushioning and how cleanly and consistently a material behaves within the wider system, which is now intended to remain operational in challenging conditions over a longer period of time.
Physically expanded closed-cell foams can be particularly effective for these reasons, as their internal cells are sealed rather than interconnected, helping to create a cleaner material structure and support applications where low weight, cleanability, low emissions and protective performance matter.
CHANGING NEEDS
Equipment protection has always been central to space exploration. Before any system reaches orbit, payloads – as in the instruments, electronics and support equipment carried for a mission purpose – must survive launch vibration, shock, acceleration forces and the handling demands of transit, while remaining aligned and functional.
This is why advanced foam materials are already used in space-related applications such as cargo bags, electronic equipment packaging, harnesses, and anti-vibration components. Their role is to secure delicate or high-value equipment, absorb energy where needed and provide protection without adding unnecessary mass.
But demands are now expanding. As space activity moves towards longer-term infrastructure, materials must continue to support equipment through launch and transit, but also through storage, deployment and operation on the lunar surface. Durability, cleanability, low emissions and stable behaviour over time will therefore become as important as initial cushioning performance.
EARLY DECISIONS, LONGER-TERM PERFORMANCE
The next phase of space exploration will place new demands on equipment design. As missions begin to involve sustained lunar activity and more permanent infrastructure, components will need to be engineered for long-term exposure.
That changes the role of materials specification, with performance at the point of launch only part of the requirement and the materials used for vital equipment and infrastructure needing to remain stable in extreme conditions with limited maintenance access. For designers and engineers, this means working earlier and more closely with advanced materials manufacturers.
The next era of space exploration will still be defined by rockets, robotics and mission architecture. But its success will also depend on quieter specification decisions made much earlier, before equipment is built, tested and sent beyond Earth.
