Gold’s reflectivity, conductivity and corrosion resistance have long made it a vital material in mankind’s exploration of space.

It’s efficiency as a reflector of heat and infra-red radiation has led to gold being used to in many of NASA’a undertakings. So reflective gold-coated plastic film is wrapped around parts of the equipment that are subjected to a steady stream of intense static generating solar raditation and heat. In a similar way, a layer of gold on the helmets of astronauts enable them to work in space safe from the lethal effects of this radiation. The Mars Global Surveyor had an on-board gold-coated parabolic telescope-mirror that helped to generate a detailed map of the entire Martian surface over a two-year period.

The $1.5 billion Hubble telescope has been protected by gold coatings to provide corrosion resistance and electrical connections. Nearly 41Kg of gold was used in the construction of the US Columbia space shuttle, especially in brazing alloys, fuel cell fabrication, for coated plastic films or in electrical contacts.

For a more detailed paper describing the science behind gold’s use in this application click here.