Student Spaceflight Experiments Project

How fast does steel wool corrode in microgravity?

 

Proposal Summary:

Space over the past years has had a substantial increase in people’s interest. It’s

noticeable that the world is changing quickly, and projects are being performed where few

people have traveled. Knowing that space is the future of human existence, the rate at which

steel oxidizes in space is crucial. This experiment contains steel wool which is in a section of

the tube. In the other compartment of the tube is saltwater to speed up the way in which steel

corrodes. Seeing how many things in our day-to-day lives are built using steel it is fair to say

that knowing the rates in which steel rusts is important. After the tests are complete a comparison

will be made between the two, determining if microgravity oxidizes steel quicker. As humans

require oxygen for survival it is clear that oxygen will be an essential thing that is brought up.

With this, it means that steel will corrode and risks will factor in.