• In 1964, nylon, invented by DuPont, was the major component of the early Apollo space suits, which included a seven-layer envelope.  For the Apollo 11 mission to the moon, 20 of the 21 layers in each space suit was made with DuPont inventions, including DuPont™ Nomex® fiber, Teflon® fluoropolymer, Kapton® polyimide film, Mylar® polyester film, Lycra® spandex, neoprene and nylon. The first U.S. flag placed on the moon was made of DuPont’s nylon. On Earth, these products created new categories in clothing and protection for people and critical processes.

• DuPont™ Kevlar®, the high performance fiber best known as the leading brand in ballistic protection on Earth, is used with DuPont™ Nomex® fiber in space suits worn by today’s astronauts.  Nomex® was used in the Apollo 11 space suits and is best known on Earth as the product that keeps firefighters and first responders safe. A parachute made of Kevlar® fiber was included on the Galileo probe to Jupiter, and at the International Space Station, where a “blanket” made of Kevlar® fiber was used to wrap its inner walls to protect it from micrometeorites.

• DuPont™ Krytox® performance lubricants were first used by NASA for the Apollo space flights in the 1960s.  Krytox® oils and greases work at both low and high temperature extremes to keep engine parts running. They are nonflammable, chemically inert and safe to use in all areas of oxygen service.  On Earth, they protect everything from industrial bearings and gear boxes to bicycle chains and the spark plugs in NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon’s car.  Krytox® lubricants keep cool under the hood.

• The Mars Rovers, which are still roaming the planet more than 5 years after they were launched, contain almost 70 yards each of thin DuPont™ Pyralux® flexible circuit materials. By replacing bulky round wires and cables, they provide a volume savings of between 60 percent and 70 percent. Stacked, they would total less than 1.5 inches. Pyralux® flexible circuit materials connect the “brains” of the rovers to their parts – the robotic arms, cameras, high gain antennas, wheels and sensors; much like Pyralux® here on Earth connects the display in a flip phone to the keypad.

• Pressure-sensitive tape made of DuPont™ Kapton® polyimide film has been used throughout NASA vehicles to control vibration. On the Mars Rovers, cables made with Pyralux® and secured with Kapton® tape offer durable, lightweight environmental resistance for temperatures on Mars, which range from minus 120° Centigrade (minus 184° Farenheit) to 22° C (72° F). Here, Kapton® and Pyralux® plays a critical role as key materials for flexible circuits used in electronic applications, including your laptop computer.

• Strip heaters made with DuPont™ Kapton® were used throughout the Mars Rovers for thermal control, ensuring critical warmth needed to maintain operations in the extremely cold Martian atmosphere. Traditional copper wires and cables have large conductors could easily allow heat to escape from electronics modules, threatening a shortened mission life. Strip heaters made with Kapton® significantly reduce that risk and allow the rovers to use smaller solar panels and batteries. Strips of Kapton® are also used here on Earth as the film that enables your print cartridges.

• Cameras beaming clear, high resolution signals back to Earth can do so in part because the flexible circuits were made using Pyralux® flexible circuit materials, Riston® dry film photoresists and ImageMaster™ phototooling films that provide reliable fine-line circuit images, ensuring consistent quality signals and performance. On Earth, DuPont’s imaging materials are critical to the fabrication of printed circuit boards in our desktop computers.

• DuPont™ Tedlar® polyvinyl fluoride film played a unique and important protective role for the Phoenix Mars Lander, protecting the spacecraft's robotic sampling arm on it's travel through the hostile environment of space. The robotic arm was the only part of the craft to touch the ice below the surface of Mars, and Tedlar® ensured it arrived in pristine condition.
  
  On our planet, Tedlar® is a key component in photovoltaic modules, providing the critical backing needed to protect the energy creating solar cells.

back to previous page