The Nation’s first reusable and returnable satellite, Shijian-19, was successfully retrieved and returned to Earth after multiple space experiments were conducted in low Earth orbit. Among the payloads was an in-orbit material experiment testbed developed by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), which is Hong Kong’s first reusable experimental payload to return from space.
The in-orbit material experiment testbed was jointly developed by a team led by Prof. Daniel LAU, Associate Director of the Photonics Research Institute (PRI) and Key Member of the Research Centre for Deep Space Explorations (RCDSE), together with the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. The testbed was designed and manufactured at PolyU’s Industrial Centre. The entire research and production process was completed on the PolyU campus.
This project aims to study the effects of microgravity, vacuum, and radiation on the effectiveness of high-performance catalysts, laying a foundation for space application catalyst materials for producing fuels, oxygen, and certain chemicals.
The design of the catalyst material testing device is based on Prof. Lau’s earlier development of the APMA system for carbon dioxide (CO2) electroreduction, which can convert CO2 into ethylene for industrial purposes to provide an effective solution for reducing CO2 emissions. The “A” in APMA stands for anion-exchange membrane (AEM); “P” represents the proton-exchange membrane (PEM); and “MA” is the resulting membrane assembly.
The in-orbit material experiment testbed has been retrieved and will be analysed in PolyU’s laboratory. The team hopes to explore the effects of space environments on different materials, which could provide new insights for future deep space exploration missions.
