Is there a type of material that can last millions of years in space, without fracturing?

Question

This is a question of space science, regarding certain materials that have either been tested in space, or theorized to last an unestimable period of time.

Is there any kind of material which, if crafted into an orbital space station, would be durable enough to last for millions of years without regular maintenance?

On Earth, there are so many other factors that do not exist in space. There considerations for such things as gravity, dust, microorganisms, erosion and chemical weathering, physical impact and destruction. In space, these factors are cut completely out almost. Is it possible to build a spacecraft that could exist by itself in space, unmanned, for millions of years without ever fracturing? Could the craft remain durable and functional over millions of years, without any period maintenance?

Answer 1

The craft itself would last indefinitely unless exposed to extreme heat or extreme radiation (which can cause elements to morph into other elements), or, of course, severe impact. But space is pretty empty so the basic structure would last, I don't doubt, billions of years.

The electronics are of course a different story. If you have electronics that are 99.999999% reliable, which I dare say is much better than the reality by probably three orders of magnitude, then your chances of failure over 100 million years are 2/3, and after a billion years approach 100%.

Two sorts of power supplies would not work. One is what is used in deep space craft today, radiation based power systems that harness energy from decaying radioactive material the same way a solar cell works. Here the problem is the half life of the material would become a critical limitation. For a conventional reactor, the thing would never last, because the materials the reactor are built out of would transform into other materials that won't function "to specification."

Solar panels are probably the best bet for longevity but they would be vulnerable in other respects. You would probably have to get pretty far out of the solar system to be free from micrometeorites: the Hipparchos satellite got hit 86 times over the course of its mission of several years. The mission kept on, but you have to figure that over a million years it would have gotten pretty well perforated. So if you moved way out into interstellar space to "while away the time" you'd be prohibitively far from a solar power source; if you stayed closer you'd be zinged by micrometeorites. Still, the craft could be recognizable, though, and would to any alien civiliation be immediately recognizable as an alloy.

The Voyager craft have managed to work for several decades and the Mars rovers are doing very well, way over spec. But we're talking decades for Voyager and years for the Rovers, which is nothing compared to what you're talking about. It is also noteworthy that for every craft that lasts for a long time we have one or two which perform imperfectly or not at all.

Hope that helps,
GN

Answer 2

Carbon nanotubes can be made into space elevators if a way can be found to mass-produce them at high volume. I suppose they could also make spaceship hulls out of them, probably even better than the tritanium hulls in Star Trek.

Answer 3

Something I've always wondered,Why don't we process metals in space,in spaces vacuum.No air or impurities to weaken metals,like here on earth.We might be able to make aluminum to be stronger then titanium up there.Maybe titanium stronger then diamonds.Guess we'll have to ask NASA.

Answer 4

nope.... nothing lasts forever... especially anything man-made....

Answer 5

make it out of an old fruitcake !!! lol..