Lotus-inspired dust shielding

The lotus plant has inspired materials engineers to create a coating that mimics the plant's unusual self-cleaning capabilities. Goddard engineer Wanda Peters is investigating whether materials treated with these coatings could survive the harsh space environment. Credit: Flickr Creative Commons / Liangjinjian

Lotus-inspired dust-shield

Bill Steigerwald and Lori Keesey
PhysOrg.com

A NASA team is developing a transparent coating that mimics the self-cleaning properties of the lotus plant to prevent dirt from sticking to the surfaces of spaceflight gear and bacteria from growing inside astronaut living quarters.

Read the Article HERE.