Space, the final frontier for Graphene and 2D Materials

Several years ago Prof. Castro Neto predicted the importance of graphene and other 2D materials on space technology and exploration: “In the space business weight is a big issue from the financial and physical perspectives. The heavier the payload the higher the cost of launching rockets and accelerating them into higher speeds. Graphene and 2D materials are the lightest functional materials in the universe and hence are perfect in terms of mass density”, says Prof. Castro Neto, “and, moreover, in the absence of air and water, 2D materials never corrode and can last indefinitely.”  Prof. Castro Neto goes further “In deep space the temperatures are so low that some 2D materials superconduct reducing the energy cost of operation to a perfect zero.”

Prof Castro Neto’s dreams of making graphene a big player in the space race are becoming reality. In collaboration with Boreal Space, a US based satellite launcher, CA2DM is soon launching the first graphene devices into orbit opening a new chapter in space exploration for 2D materials.
Find out more of this exciting news here.