Panasonic to test its electronics engineering materials in space
Date: 03/07/2022
Due to significant growth in aerospace electronics market, there is a demand for such electronic components to fulfil high reliability requirements of radiation prone aero-space.
Aiming this growing market, the leading electronic industry material
manufacturer Panasonic announces it will conduct space exposure experiments of its electronic circuit board materials and Underfill for board level reinforcement . Experiments include exposure to microgravity, cosmic radiation, high vacuum, and other conditions unique to space environments. It is difficult to reproduce all of these environments simultaneously on Earth.
The materials will be launched into outer space within FY2022 (by the end of March 2023) on the Exposed Facility of the Japanese Experiment Module Kibo onboard the International Space Station (ISS) and remain there for about six months.
Panasonics said these experiments to expose it's products to space to assess the impact on them and utilize the data obtained for future product development. Example of such products quoted by Panasonic include MEGTRON series multi-layer circuit board materials and LEXCM series semiconductor device materials, which are widely used in the field of communication infrastructure. This project allows experiments in space (an environment where microgravity, high vacuum, cosmic radiation, and wide-ranging temperature changes occur simultaneously), which are difficult to duplicate on Earth.
Panasonic said it will provide electronic materials to contribute to businesses relating to the moon and Mars, which are expected to expand in the future, and technological innovations for high-altitude platform stations, etc., thereby aiming to realize a sustainable society.
Panasonic said it will participate in the Space Delivery Project -RETURN to EARTH-, which is promoted by Space BD Inc., to launch research products collected from domestic and overseas research institutions, educational facilities, and private companies into space in order to conduct space exposure experiments.
Further details shared by Panasonic in its release includes:
The company's experimental samples will be installed on the Exposed Experiment Bracket Attached on i-SEEP (ExBAS) mounted on the IVA-replaceable Small Exposed Experiment Platform (i-SEEP) of the Japanese Experiment Module Kibo on board the International Space Station (ISS). The samples will be launched into space to allow for approximately six months of exposure experiments. Subsequently, the samples will be retrieved by the ISS and returned to Earth via a cargo spacecraft. The company is planning to evaluate changes in their material properties before and after exposure to space.
Author: Srinivasa Reddy N
