As spacecraft venture deeper into extreme environments (−270 °C to 1650 °C, 10-6 g, 5000 mSv), conventional solar, battery and nuclear sources reveal weight, radiation and eclipse limitations. Now researchers from Luleå University of Technology, Khalifa University and the University of Cambridge—led by Rayyan Ali Shaukat, Yarjan Abdul Samad and Yijun Shi—deliver the first panoramic review on triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) as lightweight, self-powered energy and sensing solutions for next-generation space systems.
Why TENGs Matter
• Energy everywhere – convert launch vibration, micrometeoroid impacts, astronaut motion and planetary wind into 10–100 mW m-2 without batteries.
• Extreme durability – PTFE/PDMS-based devices maintain 130 V, 8 µA output at −125 °C and 0.6 kPa Martian pressure; UV exposure boosts charge density by 157×.
• Dual function – same layer harvests power and acts as a self-powered sensor for real-time health, collision and dust monitoring, cutting harness mass by 30 %.
Innovative Design & Features
• Four working modes – contact-separation, freestanding, sliding and hybrid – matched to specific mission stimuli (crawl, flap, wheel, shaker).
• Space-grade stack – fluorinated polymers, MOFs, graphene and self-healing elastomers provide >260 °C tolerance, <5 % performance drift after 10 kGy radiation.
• mm-scale footprints – 9 cm2 patch delivers 98 V at 250 µm displacement; 3D-printable, foldable and whipple-shield-ready for Cube-Sat and EVA glove integration.
Applications & Future Outlook
• Planetary exploration – Mars-chamber validated TENGs power parachute dust-impact sensors, sustaining 12 mV signal after 100 dust collisions.
• Spacecraft health – bearing-embedded CL-TENG tracks flywheel micro-vibrations (1103 rpm) with 6 V output, enabling predictive maintenance without wiring.
• Manned systems – aerogel TENGs woven into suits generate 135 V, 6 µA from astronaut gait across −29 to 400 °C, feeding biometric sensors wirelessly.
• In-orbit robotics – cat-paw-inspired tribo-skins guide autonomous crawlers for truss assembly, while 3D-printed collision pods alert on 0.2 g debris strikes.
• Satellite links – Arctic-tested TENG buoys harvest wave energy (21.4 W m-3) to drive Iridium beacons at −40 °C, promising truly off-grid emergency comms.
Challenges & Opportunities
The review maps a roadmap spanning radiation-hardened MXene composites, AI-assisted digital twins, in-space 3D printing and hybrid TENG-TEG-solar architectures that together can close the power gap for smallsats, Artemis habitats and deep-space probes.
