TEXTILES.ORG
Specialty clothing brand Vollebak has made “Martian Aerogel Jackets” from space parachutes that NASA used in developing its Rover mission on Mars in 2021. The jackets are fabricated using two materials that NASA employed during its missions. The parachute fabric is used for its exterior, while the inside uses the laser-drilled aerogel built by the same team that makes the space agency’s heat shield to protect the Mars Rover from the planet’s high temperature.
Vollebak describes its silica aerogel material as flexible and waterproof because it can be soaked or compressed in water and still insulate up to -20 degrees Celsius. The trick, they say, is by combining it with organic foam to produce a two-millimeter-thick and water-resistant sheet, subjected to laser drilling to fabricate micropores for breathability. This technique makes up the inside of Vollebak’s Martian Aerogel Jackets, protecting against extreme cold.
Vollebak interest in using the laser-drilled aerogel built by the team working with NASA, is simply to benefit from the space agency’s research and development of this fabric, so its durability and materiality may already be proven. The parachute is made of heat-proof nylon spun at high speed before being washed, colored, processed and finished. Lightweight and able to withstand extreme heat, the fabric is baked at 135 degrees Celsius to kill the microorganisms that might contaminate them.
This specific fabric is what NASA used to land the first probe on Titan and the recent Rover on Mars. For the excess parachutes that didn’t make it out of Earth, they found their home with Vollebak as the outer shell of the new jackets.