HySpaceCoDe · A HYbrid COmputational platform for the analysis of DEgradation of materials & structures in harsh SPACE environments

Why this project matters.Next generation space missions — from reusable launchers like Falcon 9 to long-duration exploration programs such as Artemis — depend on materials able to withstand extreme conditions: rapid heating and cooling, radiation, and impacts from micro-meteoroids. Today, we cannot stll reliably predict how these materials degrade in orbit. As a consequence, spacecraft are often overdesigned, making them heavier, more expensive, and less sustainable.What is missing today.Existing models can capture some aspects of degradation, but none can handle the full complexity of how damage evolves in aerospace materials exposed to space environments. This gap limits both industry and research: we lack tools that are accurate, computationally efficient, and validated against real data.What HySpaceCoDe will do.Building on the expertise of the fellow, the host and the secondment institutions, HyCoDeSpace will, for the first time, combine two powerful numerical approaches — the Boundary Element Method (BEM) and the Virtual Element Method (VEM) — into a single hybrid computational platform. This will allow us to model both surface-driven and bulk degradation processes in a way that no existing tool can. The outcome will be a versatile, scalable, high-fidelity, multi-physics, and multi-scale framework that link microstructural aging to structural performance, to support design, maintenance, and safe reuse of spacecraft materials.Why it matters for Europe & the Fellow.This innovation will reduce costs and risks for European space missions, strengthen industrial competitiveness, and contribute to more sustainable space exploration. For the Fellow, it will be a key step toward scientific independence and the expertise needed to launch future projects, building on the strong mentoring and international network provided by the fellowship. Eventually, linking Palermo & Hannover University, HySpaceCoDe wil reinforce the EU research ecosytem.