When astronauts travel deeper into space, every drop of fuel becomes critical, and keeping those fuels stable for months or even years is one of the biggest engineering challenges facing future missions. Now, University of Florida researchers have uncovered a surprising behavior in boiling liquids that could help solve that challenge.
The findings, published July 8 in npj Microgravity, establish an important foundation for designing next-generation spacecraft systems that depend on cryogenic liquid — the ultracold liquids used both as rocket propellants and as coolants for onboard electronics.
