Progress on Study of Degradation of Space Materials upon VUV Irradiation

This review introduces VUV (Vacuum Ultraviolet) environment effects on LEO (Low Earth Orbit). VUV irradiation can result in increase of surface roughness of space materials,changes of microstructure and components of their surfaces,and decrease of mechanical properties as well as optical performance. At the same time, the combined effect of VUV and atomic oxygen (AO) will accelerate the degradation of materials.