Oct 10, 2024
- Products & Solutions
- Press Release
Osaka, Japan – Panasonic Industry Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Kadoma-shi, Osaka; Representative Director, President, CEO: Shinji Sakamoto) announced today that it will conduct space exposure experiments[2] of its electronic circuit board materials and Underfill for board level reinforcement . The materials will be launched into outer space within FY2022 (by the end of March 2023) on the Exposed Facility[1] of the Japanese Experiment Module Kibo onboard the International Space Station (ISS) and remain there for about six months.
In recent years, the aerospace industry has accelerated the development of space technologies and solutions with an eye toward solving environmental and social issues on Earth, including endeavors such as the full-scale promotion of manned lunar surface activities and efforts to increase services that utilize low-earth-orbit satellites.
Against this backdrop, these experiments will expose Panasonic’s products to space to assess the impact on them and utilize the data obtained for future product development. Such products include MEGTRON series multi-layer circuit board materials and LEXCM series semiconductor device materials, which are widely used in the field of communication infrastructure. This project allows experiments in space (an environment where microgravity, high vacuum, cosmic radiation, and wide-ranging temperature changes occur simultaneously), which are difficult to duplicate on Earth.
Panasonic will provide electronic materials to contribute to businesses relating to the moon and Mars, which are expected to expand in the future, and technological innovations for high-altitude platform stations (HAPSs)[3], etc., thereby aiming to realize a sustainable society.
[Content of the experiments]
＜Outline＞
Panasonic will participate in the Space Delivery Project -RETURN to EARTH-, which is promoted by Space BD Inc., to launch research products collected from domestic and overseas research institutions, educational facilities, and private companies into space in order to conduct space exposure experiments. The company's experimental samples will be installed on the Exposed Experiment Bracket Attached on i-SEEP (ExBAS) mounted on the IVA-replaceable Small Exposed Experiment Platform (i-SEEP) of the Japanese Experiment Module Kibo on board the International Space Station (ISS). The samples will be launched into space to allow for approximately six months of exposure experiments. Subsequently, the samples will be retrieved by the ISS and returned to Earth via a cargo spacecraft. The company is planning to evaluate changes in their material properties before and after exposure to space.
＜Panasonic products subject to space exposure experiments＞
- MEGTRON series: Low transmission loss multi-layer circuit board materials
https://industrial.panasonic.com/ww/products/pt/megtron - XPEDION series: High frequency circuit board materials
https://industrial.panasonic.com/ww/products/pt/xpedion - FELIOS series: Flexible circuit board materials
https://industrial.panasonic.com/ww/products/pt/felios - Highly heat-resistant low CTE multi-layer circuit board materials HIPER V
https://industrial.panasonic.com/ww/products/pt/megtron/hiperv - LEXCM GX series: Semiconductor package substrate materials
https://industrial.panasonic.com/ww/products/pt/lexcm-gx - LEXCM series: Underfill for board level reinforcement
https://industrial.panasonic.com/ww/products/pt/assy-em
＜Future plans＞
- • Within FY 2022: The samples will be launched into space for about six months of exposure.
- • Within FY 2023: The samples will be evaluated upon their return to Earth.
Term Descriptions:
[1] Kibo's Exposed Facility on board the International Space Station (ISS)
An experimental area exposed to space and located outside the Japanese Experiment Module Kibo on board the International Space Station, which is in orbit approximately 400 km above the Earth's surface. The facility enables scientific observations, Earth observations, communications, science and engineering experiments, scientific experiments, etc.
[2] Space exposure
Exposure to microgravity, cosmic radiation, high vacuum, and other conditions unique to space environments. It is difficult to reproduce all of these environments simultaneously on Earth.
[3] HAPS
Abbreviation of High-Altitude Platform Station. General term for systems that provide communication services over a wide area by mounting communication base stations, such as those for LTE and 5G applications, on unmanned aircraft flying in the stratosphere about 20 km above the ground. Since HAPS is resistant to disasters and can provide communication services to 3D spatial areas including those in the sky, it is expected to help eliminate information gaps between different locations by covering a wide range of areas where communication networks are not yet in place, such as mountainous areas and remote islands.
Inquiries:
Electronic Materials Business Division, Panasonic Industry Co., Ltd.
https://industrial.panasonic.com/cuif/ww/contact-us?field_contact_group=2343
Panasonic Industry Co., Ltd. website
https://www.panasonic.com/global/industry/
Space BD Inc. website
https://space-bd.com/en/
Media Contact:
Public Relations Department, Panasonic Industry Co., Ltd.
Email: press-industry@ml.jp.panasonic.com
About Panasonic Industry Co., Ltd.
A global leader in developing innovative technologies and solutions for wide-ranging applications, the Panasonic Group switched to an operating company system on April 1, 2022, with Panasonic Holdings Corporation serving as a holding company that has eight companies under its umbrella.
Panasonic Industry, in charge of the Panasonic Group’s device business as one of the eight companies in the Group, was established on April 1, 2022 with the mission “We will open the way to a better future and continue to contribute to an affluent society through a variety of device technologies.” Against the backdrop of the labor shortage in manufacturing, the explosion of data with the rise of the information-based society, and greater demands for the environment and safety for the mobility society, the company focuses on areas where continuous evolution is required and provides customer value with distinctive features of unique materials and process technologies such as capacitors, compact servomotors, EV relays, and electronic materials. For the year ended March 31, 2022, the company achieved net sales of 1,131.4 billion yen. To learn more about Panasonic Industry, please visit:https://www.panasonic.com/global/industry
