Chinese researchers find egg-cellent way to keep space debris from scrambling craft
A new shielding concept straight out of biology could boost spacecraft protection against high-speed debris in low Earth orbit. Chinese researchers at Dalian University of Technology have tested a design that stacks 3D-printed aluminum “eggs” between plates and fills them with water. When struck by hypervelocity debris, the egg-like shapes absorb more energy—reducing projectile speed by up to about 65% in simulations, outperforming a single aluminum plate. The approach aims to balance protection with weight, though thicker shells add weight. The team is refining the design and conducting more tests, hoping bio-inspired metastructures offer a practical path to safer, more resilient spacecraft as orbital congestion grows and debris risk rises.