NASA tests MEMS in harsh environment of space

by R. Colin Johnson
Contributing Editor, MEMS Investor Journal

Sandia Passive ISS Research Experiments (SPIRE) is currently testing a variety of materials and devices in the harsh space environment at the International Space Station (ISS).

The SPIRE program was an accelerated 18-month development effort that is claimed to cost just one-fifth as much as previous similar efforts.  SPIRE's Passive Experiment Container (PEC) was delivered to ISS late last year, and is expected to be retrieved after a six month exposure to the cold, vacuum and cosmic radiation of empty space.  15 passive experiments are contained in the PEC that make up SPIRE including MEMS latching impact sensors, radiation-shielding structural composites, doped laser fibers, pure tin finished parts and gallium arsenide photodiodes.