On May 3rd, at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in China, Chang'e-6 boarded the Long March 5 Yao-8 carrier rocket and set off to the far side of the moon for a sampling and return mission. The moon is a harsh world with a temperature difference of over 300 degrees Celsius between day and night. In order to protect various instruments and equipment, Chang'e 6 has adopted various high-tech coatings developed and produced by the Shanghai Institute of Silicate, Chinese Academy of Sciences, which is like putting on various "colorful clothes" for Chang'e 6. The Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, with a history of over 90 years, is an inorganic non-metallic material research institution that integrates cutting-edge exploration of materials, high-tech innovation, and application development research. The inorganic coatings developed by the institute are widely used in various types of spacecraft in China. Song Lixin, a researcher at the Special Inorganic Coating Research Center of Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, introduced that in the Chang'e-6 mission, the institute provided key materials such as wear-resistant coatings for the sealing dynamic ring of the carrier rocket engine, inorganic thermal control coatings for the Chang'e-6 probe, high-temperature antioxidant coatings, high-temperature insulation screens, engine wrapping materials, low-temperature multi-layer insulation components, flexible films, and antenna transmission windows. Most of the products of Chang'e-6 were put into operation at the same time as Chang'e-5, and it has been 7 years since its birth and launch. In order to ensure the new appearance of the Chang'e-6 mission, young party members from the Special Inorganic Coating Research Center of the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics rushed to the Wenchang Launch Center as early as the third day of the Lunar New Year to carry out confirmation work on the implementation and status of engine wrapping materials, fully ensuring the timely and high-quality completion of the Chang'e-6 mission. Thermal control coating is a surface material coated on a material specifically designed to adjust the thermal radiation properties of solid surfaces to achieve thermal control objectives. It is a member of the spacecraft's thermal control system and also the most important set of "Huafu" for Chang'e-6. "Thermal control coatings are to spacecraft what clothes are to humans, and they are also 'high-end private clothing, tailored'. In different parts of the spacecraft, we need to choose thermal control materials with different radiation absorption ratios, combined with other thermal control measures, in order to achieve a reasonable temperature range for each part." said Meng Jia, senior engineer at the Special Inorganic Coating Research Center. For different parts of the Chang'e-6 spacecraft, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics has adopted multiple processes to develop more than 10 inorganic thermal control coatings with different absorption ratios. These materials can ensure that the spacecraft's instruments and equipment can operate normally in extreme environments. The 7500N variable thrust engine is the key braking device of Chang'e-6. When the engine is working, the maximum temperature can reach over 1400 degrees Celsius, while the operating temperature of the surrounding instruments and equipment needs to be maintained at around tens of degrees Celsius simultaneously. "In order to separate these two in terms of temperature, we put a 'skirt' around the engine, which is a high-temperature multi-layer insulation material." Yu Yang, a senior engineer at the Special Inorganic Coating Research Center, said, "This skirt is only 1 centimeter thick and consists of 20 layers of special materials. Wearing it forms a thermal barrier between the engine and surrounding electronic components. Even if the combustion chamber and nozzle inside the skirt are hot, the temperature outside the skirt will not exceed 100 degrees Celsius, ensuring the normal operation of the Chang'e-6 probe. In addition, the Chang'e-6 spacecraft is equipped with more than ten attitude control systems with varying thrust and directions."
Edit：Lubaikang Responsible editor：Chenze
Source：mrdx.cn
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