A groundbreaking new alloy, ALLVAR Alloy 30, developed through collaboration between ALLVAR and NASA, features negative thermal expansion properties that could significantly enhance the stability of future space telescopes aimed at exoplanet discovery.

NASA's Astrophysics Division is focused on identifying potentially habitable exoplanets beyond our solar system, with the upcoming Habitable Worlds Observatory requiring telescopes that are 1,000 times more stable than current models to successfully detect these distant worlds.

While current materials used in telescope construction have improved stability, they still do not meet the stringent requirement of 10 picometers necessary for effective exoplanet observation.

Recent tests of a hexapod structure utilizing ALLVAR Alloy 30 demonstrated stability levels of 11 picometers, indicating it is approaching the required stability for the Habitable Worlds Observatory.

Integrating ALLVAR Alloy 30 into telescope designs could enhance thermal stability by up to 200 times compared to traditional materials like aluminum and titanium alloys, facilitating the detection of exoplanets that are very close to their host stars.

Research on ALLVAR Alloy 30 has advanced significantly, with comprehensive datasets being developed to support its qualification for space applications.

The collaboration between ALLVAR, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory is focused on integrating this innovative material to improve telescope structures.

ALLVAR Alloy 30 is designed to shrink when heated and expand when cooled, allowing it to effectively compensate for the thermal expansion of other materials used in telescope structures.

This alloy exhibits a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of -30 ppm/°C, significantly lower than that of aluminum, which has a positive CTE of +23 ppm/°C.

The unique properties of ALLVAR Alloy 30 have also been applied to enhance thermal switch performance in other NASA missions, such as the UC Berkeley Lunar Surface Electromagnetics Experiment-Night project.

Beyond astronomy, the negative thermal expansion technology shows promise in various NASA projects and commercial applications in extreme temperature environments.

Future developments may lead to tunable thermal expansion properties that can match other materials, potentially benefiting multiple fields including aerospace, defense, and medical imaging.