Carbon nanotubes could help electronics withstand outer space’s harsh conditions

Date posted
Funding Agency
(Funded by the U.S. Department of Defense)

Space missions, such as NASA's Orion that will take astronauts to Mars, are pushing the limits of human exploration. But during their transit, spacecraft encounter a continuous stream of damaging cosmic radiation, which can harm or even destroy onboard electronics. To extend future missions, researchers from MIT and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory have shown that transistors and circuits with carbon nanotubes can be configured to maintain their electrical properties and memory after being bombarded by high amounts of radiation.