Japanese construction company Obayashi, Shizuoka University and Japan Manned Space Systems Corporation started an experiment on the carbon nano tube (CNT) in space for the space elevator project. Test specimens coated with two types of materials, metal and silicon, are exposed at the Japanese Experiment Module "Kibo", a part of the International Space Station and the degree of damage will be examined.

The experiment is a part of of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)'s simple exposure experiment facility on ISS. Obayashi's space elevator project envisions the use of lightweight and high-strength CNT for cables. The total cable length is approximately 96,000 kilometers.

Based on the results of the first experiment conducted from 2015 to 2018, the companies use CNT cables coated with metal and silicon this time. The two types of the test materials will be exposed for 1 year and 2 years, respectively, on the front and the back sides of ISS. The test specimens have already been launched, and the fist material is scheduled to return to the earth this summer.(2020/06/12)