A close-up of a sample similar to those sent to the ISS to study their durability in harsh space conditions.

Leaner and Meaner: Materials Tested in Space Could Help Build More Space-Resilient Satellites

05.18.2026

Researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) and Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) are sending experimental polymer materials to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the MISSE-22 mission to better understand how they withstand real space conditions. 

Mounted outside the ISS and exposed to atomic oxygen, extreme temperatures, and radiation, the samples will later be returned to Earth for detailed analysis. The findings will help improve materials for future satellite constellations. The project brings together government, academic, and industry partners, including the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), California-based R&D firm Hedgefog Research Inc., DuPont de Nemours, and Aegis Aerospace. 

Read the full story on the Georgia Tech Research news site. 

GTRI Senior Research Engineer and Principal Investigator Elena Plis and her team are sending new lightweight, research-grade polymers to the ISS for months of in-orbit exposure and later testing on Earth. Here, she is pictured in a laboratory at a GTRI facility in Atlanta, GA (Photo Credit: Sean McNeil, GTRI).

Media Inquiries

Or use our contact form >

Newsletter

Sign up for monthly updates on GTRI’s research, activity, and more.

Related News

Tucker Middle School students celebrate their advancement to the national finals. Photo courtesy of Tucker Middle School.
News stories

STEM@GTRI Creates Critical Connections for Tucker Middle School Students

Students at Tucker Middle School designed a device to help victims of human trafficking the nation’s busiest airport — Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International. Motivated by statistics of human trafficking, a group of students from Tucker Middle School consulted experts in the government and at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) — the nonprofit applied research division of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech).
Dr. Duke's current projects include work with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), addressing a variety of illnesses from Covid-19 to chronic diseases. Photo by Christopher Moore.
News stories

Meet Dr. Jon Duke, Principal Research Scientist

Dr. Jon Duke is the director of the Center for Health Analytics and Informatics at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) and a principal research scientist at the School of Interactive Computing in the College of Computing. His career before Tech was entirely in medical environments, both as a physician and a researcher.  
Closeup view of man`s hand using laptop with virtual digital screen with icon of lock on it. (Credit: Traitov, iStockphoto.com)
News stories

GTRI Team Wins $10,000 in Navy Hacking Competition

Nearly 20 GTRI researchers competed in the U.S. Navy’s HACKtheMACHINE event held March 23 to 26 this year. The event was mostly virtual, but a handful of GTRI researchers collaborated in person while following social distancing guidelines.