Nanomaterials for Space Applications: Towards Advanced and Sustainable Approaches for Material Design and Fabrication Enabling Reliable Performance in Extreme Environments

Dear Colleagues,

We invite you to contribute to this Special Issue of Nanomaterials entitled “Nanomaterials for Space Applications: Towards Advanced and Sustainable Approaches for Material Design and Fabrication Enabling Reliable Performance in Extreme Environments.”

The rapid expansion of space exploration, satellite technologies, and long-duration space missions has increased demand for materials capable of operating reliably under extreme conditions, including intense radiation, severe thermal cycling, ultra-high vacuum, and mechanical loading. Conventional materials often struggle to meet these requirements, prompting growing interest in nanomaterials as enabling components for next-generation space technologies. Advances in nanoscience and nanotechnology have demonstrated that nanomaterials, such as nanoparticles, nanocomposites, nanocoatings, and low-dimensional materials, offer unique opportunities to tailor mechanical, thermal, electrical, and radiation-resistant properties. Furthermore, sustainable approaches to material design and fabrication are becoming increasingly important in the space sector, where mass reduction, durability, multifunctionality, and long-term reliability are critical for mission success and resource efficiency.

This Special Issue will bring together high-quality contributions addressing the design, fabrication, characterization, and application of nanomaterials specifically developed for space environments. The focus on advanced and sustainable approaches directly reflects the core mission of Nanomaterials, which emphasizes nanoscale materials, structure–property relationships, and innovative applications in cutting-edge technologies. It will also focus on key challenges associated with space environments, while remaining broad enough to attract a diverse range of contributions across materials science, nanotechnology, aerospace engineering, and applied physics. In this Special Issue, original research articles and review papers are welcome. Research areas may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Advanced nanomaterials for space applications;
• Sustainable approaches to nanomaterials design and fabrication for space applications;
• Nanomaterials for radiation tolerance and shielding;
• Nanostructured materials and coatings for thermal management and protection in space;
• Nanocomposites for lightweight, high-strength, and durable space structures;
• Multifunctional nanomaterials for sensing, electronics, and energy systems in space;
• Reliability, aging, and degradation of nanomaterials under extreme space conditions;
• Modeling, simulation, and testing of nanomaterials in space-relevant environments;
• In situ manufacturing and additive fabrication of nanomaterials for space missions.

I look forward to receiving your valuable contributions.

Dr. Elisa Toto
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nanomaterials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• nanomaterials
• space applications
• extreme environments
• sustainable nanomaterials
• nanomaterials design
• nanomaterials fabrication
• reliable performance
• space durability
• multifunctional nanomaterials