The high-performance ceramics of Nanostart-holding, ItN Nanovation AG, will be able to demonstrate their unique characteristics during an ESA mission to Mercury, which is currently in preparation.

"Only the Best Technologies Are Used in Space Travel": We spoke to Dr. Frank Meyer, Head of Research and Development at ItN Nanovation AG, about the orbiter, its mission and how the ItN high-performance ceramics will be contributing to the success of the overall mission.

Mr. Meyer, why will nanoceramics from ItN be on the mission to Mercury?

Dr. Meyer: The ceramics are part of the joint BepiColombo mission of the European Space Agency, ESA, and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA. The mission involves an orbiter, which is made up of several modules and will set off its journey to Mercury in 2014 in order to collect data about the planet. The orbiter will not land on Mercury, rather orbit it and realize the measurements from there. The ceramic coating will protect parts of the orbiter from extreme conditions.

What is so special about Mercury and what exactly must the coating protect against?

Dr. Meyer: Mercury is the planet in our solar system that is closest to the sun. The orbiter will be exposed to very high UV, electron and proton radiation on the journey to Mercury as well as when orbiting it. Then there are the temperatures of over 400 degrees Celsius on the day side and far below -100 degrees Celsius on the night side of the planet, which will quickly affect the orbiter. The UV radiation alone is 10 to 14 times higher in Mercury's orbit than in the Earth's orbit. The orbiter will thus be exposed to extreme conditions over the seven years. That is about how long the mission will last.

This means that the orbiter must be very robust in order to withstand these conditions for all these years?

Dr. Meyer: Correct. There are, above all, a lot of sensitive components, which are required for taking the measurements and transmitting the results back to Earth. They are exposed to the extreme conditions of the mission and must be protected from them. These include, first and foremost, the spectrometers, which measure the wavelength, intensity and distribution of the electromagnetic radiation. This information allows for conclusions to be drawn regarding the properties of the planet. There are also cameras, altimeters, etc. Not to mention the sensitive antenna, which maintains contact with the Earth.

So the ItN nanoceramic coating provides the required protection?

Dr. Meyer: We protect highly sensitive parts via the application of a white nanoceramic coating. Our expertise in the coating of sensitive metal surfaces plays a central role. When under a vacuum, the ceramic is resistant to temperatures up to 550 degree Celsius, UV-resistant and can, in particular, also withstand sudden, high temperature fluctuations of well over 500 degrees. It is also important that the color of the coating is white and stays this way during the mission in order to reflect as much radiation as possible. This is also a requirement that we can optimally fulfill.

Which parts of the orbiter are coated by ItN?

Dr. Meyer: We joined the project over two years ago in preparation for coating the antenna. It is a very sensitive high-gain antenna, for communication and data transfer between the orbiter and the base station on Earth. We are cooperating with two companies that are constructing the antenna. In the meantime, we have taken over additional coating tasks for other orbiter parts. As a result, we are collaborating with four other companies.

How do you prevent damage to the sensitive components while applying the coating?

Dr. Meyer: We were chosen for this job because we are highly specialized in this field. Our nanoceramic coating comfortably fulfills the extreme physicochemical and thermooptical requirements in order to deal with the conditions that will occur during the mission. Our coating is applied at relatively low temperatures so that the sensitive surfaces being coated are not damaged. And in this we are far ahead of the competition.

Tell us a little about the development of the orbiter components.

Dr. Meyer: The orbiter will be in space for over seven years, and it will be exposed to extreme conditions during this period. Repairs are impossible during the journey. For this reason, all components and materials must be perfect. This is ensured via specific processes: Development and release processes take place on a step-by-step basis. We initially deliver a sample coating in laboratory scale for test purposes. The full-scale models are then coated and tested. We do not receive the contract for coating the original parts until after these tests have been passed.

How would you describe the overall project and orbiter in a nutshell?

Dr. Meyer: The overall BepiColombo mission has a budget of approx. 1 billion Euros and will safeguard a large number of jobs all over Europe for a period of over 10 years. The orbiter will be launched into space with the largest launch vehicle used by ESA, namely the Ariane 5. This should take place in 2014. The overall orbiter weighs well over a ton. When its solar sails have been folded out, it is the size of a one to two-family house.

What does ItN gain from all this?

Dr. Meyer: There is, on the one hand, the economical advantage, which I can't put a figure on here, but will be published another time. On the other hand, participating in such a project illustrates the capability and uniqueness of our high-performance ceramics. It has always been the case that only the best available technologies are used in space travel.

Thank you Dr. Meyer.

The press release from 2009, in which the project was announced, is located here >>