SOURCE: AFI
As the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) gears up to launch the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS)—India’s ambitious space station project slated for completion by 2035—the Extraterrestrial Manufacturing (ExTeM) team at IIT-Madras is working tirelessly to ensure its safety in the unforgiving vacuum of space.
Leading the charge is a groundbreaking initiative to develop metal foam, a lightweight yet resilient material designed to shield the station from micro-meteoroids and space debris. Complementing this effort, the team has constructed a state-of-the-art Microgravity Drop Tower—the fourth largest of its kind globally—to study materials under zero-gravity conditions, alongside pioneering welding techniques tailored for space environments. This fusion of innovation positions IIT-Madras at the forefront of India’s spacefaring future.
The ExTeM team’s flagship project is the development of metal foam, a porous, foam-like material made from metals such as aluminum or titanium. Unlike solid metal panels, metal foam offers a unique combination of low weight and high impact resistance—crucial for protecting a space station without adding excessive mass, which drives up launch costs. In space, where even a tiny meteoroid traveling at 20 km/s can puncture a hull, this material could absorb and dissipate energy from impacts, safeguarding the BAS’s structural integrity and the lives of its crew.
The team’s research leverages microgravity to perfect this material. On Earth, gravity causes molten metal to settle unevenly during foaming, leading to inconsistent porosity. In zero-gravity, however, the process can be controlled more precisely, yielding a uniform structure optimized for space applications. Neelabh Menaria, a master’s student working on the project, has emphasized its potential: “Metal foam made in microgravity could be a game-changer for lightweight shielding,” a sentiment echoed in posts on X celebrating IIT-Madras’s contributions to ISRO’s vision.
Central to ExTeM’s efforts is its Microgravity Drop Tower, installed in 2017 at the National Centre for Combustion Research and Development on the IIT-Madras campus. Standing among the world’s top four—behind facilities in Bremen, Germany; Hokkaido, Japan; and NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Ohio—this 38-meter tower provides 2.5 seconds of near-zero gravity by dropping experimental capsules in a vacuum-sealed environment. It’s a critical tool for simulating the weightless conditions of space, allowing researchers to study how materials behave without Earth’s gravitational pull.
The tower has already proven its worth. Experiments conducted within its confines have produced small metal foam samples, revealing how microgravity enhances pore distribution and structural integrity. Beyond metal foam, the facility supports a range of studies—from 3D printing metals to growing defect-free crystals—laying the groundwork for manufacturing technologies that could sustain long-term human presence in space. “This tower lets us test ideas that would otherwise require a rocket launch,” said Professor Amit Kumar, an aerospace engineering expert instrumental in its development.
NOTE: AFI is a proud outsourced content creator partner of IDRW.ORG. All content created by AFI is the sole property of AFI and is protected by copyright. AFI takes copyright infringement seriously and will pursue all legal options available to protect its content.