NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Space Materials Return to Earth

Much can change during 18 months in a harsh space environment. On October 20, scientists, researchers, media and college students from Utah gathered in the clean room of Building 1250 to view the grand opening of Materials International Space Station Experiments (MISSE) cases 6A and 6B, which made their way back to Langley earlier this month.

MISSE is a series of experiments being conducted to investigate the long-term exposure of materials to the space environment. MISSE 6 contained more than 400 specimens, ranging from paints to polymers. Since the inception of MISSE, more than 5,000 materials have been sent into space, including basil seeds.

When the cases were opened, cameras started flashing and eager onlookers who had specimens in the suitcases marveled at how different -- and in some cases how similar -- their materials looked after spending a year and half hanging onto the outside of the International Space Station.

Among the specimens in MISSE 6 are candidate materials for space suits and for the Orion heat shield, as well as for seals in the airlocks where Orion docks with the space station.

MISSEs 6A and 6B were launched aboard the space shuttle Endeavor in March of 2008 and were retrieved by astronauts Danny Olivas and Nicole Stott during a Sept. 1, 2009, spacewalk.

Photo Credit: NASA/Sandy Gibbs

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