Light‑Driven Propulsion of Graphene Aerogels in Microgravity

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Aerospace Engineering
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Graphene aerogels are ultralight materials capable of converting light into mechanical work.
• Performance of these materials under reduced gravity conditions is not well understood.
• Parabolic flights offer a unique platform to study material behavior in microgravity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the light-driven motion of macroscopic graphene aerogels in microgravity.
• To compare the performance of graphene aerogels under microgravity versus 1g conditions.
• To establish performance benchmarks for graphene aerogel propulsion in space environments.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the European Space Agency's (ESA) 86th parabolic flight campaign.
• Investigated macroscopic porous graphene networks with a density of 0.01 g cm⁻³.
• Directly compared aerogel response in microgravity and at 1g through optical excitation.

Main Results:

• In microgravity, aerogels achieved rapid translation, traversing 50 mm in 0.05 s with peak velocities of 1.7 m s⁻¹.
• Microgravity conditions resulted in peak accelerations >10² m s⁻² and an initial thrust pulse of 0.6 mN within 0.03 s.
• Under 1g, motion was suppressed, with peak displacement ≈15 mm, modest velocity ≈0.06 m s⁻¹, and a delayed thrust peak ≈11 µN.

Conclusions:

• Reduced gravity and absence of normal-force friction markedly amplify optically induced forces in ultralow-density graphene aerogels.
• Graphene aerogels demonstrate significant potential for light-driven propulsion in microgravity.
• The study provides critical performance data for future applications of graphene aerogels in space.