Space exploration is one of humanity’s most challenging and costly activities. Nevertheless, we continuously strive to venture further and more frequently into space. It is vital to make every effort to minimise and mitigate the risks to astronaut safety, expand the long-term operation of technologies in space and improve the overall feasibility of space exploration—this calls for an assessment of recent advances in materials with applications in space. This review focuses on state-of-the-art materials that address challenges, threats and risks experienced during space exploration. Said challenges considered in this review include the danger of micro-meteorites, fire in space, space dust, temperature extremes, electromagnetic interference (EMI) and the cost associated with space travel. The materials discussed include self-healing polymers, fire and thermally resistant materials, materials for thermal management, self-cleaning materials, EMI shielding materials and multifunctional carbon fibre composites. Through this catalogue, we seek to inform and suggest the future direction of advancing space exploration by selecting innovative materials. Graphical Abstract Next-generation materials with multifunctionality, durability and light weight and able to withstand the extreme conditions for advanced space applications
It has been shown that horses and ponies at pasture usually graze for 15-17 hours per day, and consume between 16 and 33g dry matter (DM) /kg live weight per day, depending on animal size and physiological status. However, many predominantly stabled horses have restricted access to pasture, often only 1-3 hours/day. There is no information on voluntary food intake (VFI) of horses under such regimens. Therefore the aim of this pilot study was to determine the voluntary intake of fresh herbage by ponies when their access to pasture was restricted.
The carbohydrate (CHO) fraction of pasture grasses is a major source of energy for many domestic herbivores. However, the amounts, and types, of the water–soluble carbohydrate (WSC) fraction (i.e. glucose, fructose, sucrose, and polymers of sucrose and fructose, the fructans) present in such grasses, varies with species and environmental conditions. As the WSC constitute a highly digestible, energy yielding fraction of grasses, it is important to be able to measure their levels in a sward so that the diets of pastured animals may be designed to elicit optimal health and productivity. The aim of this study was to characterise the WSC profile of six UK pasture grasses, and to develop a technique for extracting the fructan portion of the WSC.Six species of UK pasture grasses [Cocksfoot (C), Timothy (T), Meadow Fescue (M), Italian Ryegrass (IR), Perennial Ryegrass (PR) and Hybrid Ryegrass (HR)] were grown in experimental field plots at IGER.
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