Usability of Low-Density Polyethylene Thin-Film for Planetary Protection controlled applications: Strength degradation due to Gamma Irradiation

Usability of Low-Density Polyethylene Thin-Film for Planetary Protection controlled applications: Strength degradation due to Gamma Irradiation | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Usability of Low-Density Polyethylene Thin-Film for Planetary Protection controlled applications: Strength degradation due to Gamma Irradiation Torben Wippermann, Lars Witte, Vincent Feldmann This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9178346/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 4 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The material selection for the hull of a sounding balloon as reference application for the use on Mars requires, among other aspects, the consideration of planetary protection. One candidate material, 5 µm low-density polyethylene (LDPE) thin-film, cannot be sterilized through common methods in the space industry like dry heat microbial removal, but for example through gamma irradiation, which is commonly used in the medical sector. In order to quantify the impact of gamma radiation on the strength of LDPE, several samples were sterilized with absorbed doses between 18 and 50 kGy. Afterwards, the bio burden of the samples for each dose were assessed together with their remaining tensile strength. The investigation showed statistically significant changes of strength in the film’s longitudinal and lateral direction due to scission and cross-link effects on the material polymers. With regard to planetary protection, this study showed that an absorbed dose of about 25 kGy is required to reduce the bioburden to be near the detection limit of the assessment. Low-density polyethylene thin-film gamma sterilization planetary protection Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers invited by journal 07 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 22 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 20 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 20 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9178346","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":618935983,"identity":"cd2ecf95-4e30-43f9-b5f1-f0e1d808a8e4","order_by":0,"name":"Torben Wippermann","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA+UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYHACNiQSBNgbDA8wMDDjVM+DqYXngAFxWhBAIgG/Fnv23mcPPu5gSOyT7j34uDLHLs9c8vGGwxUM1nI4beE5bm448wxDYpvMuWTDs9uSiy1npxUcPMOQboxTi0QamzRvG0Num0SOmWTjNubEDbdzDA42MBxObMCn5S9Ei/nPxm31iRtungFrqcerhRFqC2PjtsOJG27wgLUk4HTYmWPshr1tEvUgvwAddjxxwxmgXxoM0g1x2cLe3sb24GebjbH87N6DHxu3VSduOH5448OGCmt5XLZAgQQQ8SALGBDQANHFQ1jNKBgFo2AUjEwAACfFV2ZimWgLAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"German Aerospace Center","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Torben","middleName":"","lastName":"Wippermann","suffix":""},{"id":618935984,"identity":"3f45cf67-1d9c-4934-ac0b-0b8da54941c9","order_by":1,"name":"Lars Witte","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"German Aerospace Center","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Lars","middleName":"","lastName":"Witte","suffix":""},{"id":618935989,"identity":"9954a284-ab66-4689-99c8-a6e8ee87761d","order_by":2,"name":"Vincent Feldmann","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"German Aerospace Center","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Vincent","middleName":"","lastName":"Feldmann","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-20 11:23:27","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9178346/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9178346/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":106920740,"identity":"224e5c7e-36d8-41b2-8372-8f213ee6be50","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-14 19:39:35","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":859989,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"StrengthdegradationduetoGammaIrradiation.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9178346/v1_covered_a2ba1b64-9f89-4724-9452-7c27aed809b2.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Usability of Low-Density Polyethylene Thin-Film for Planetary Protection controlled applications: Strength degradation due to Gamma Irradiation","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"ceas-space-journal","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"ceas","sideBox":"Learn more about [CEAS Space Journal](http://link.springer.com/journal/12567)","snPcode":"12567","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/12567/3","title":"CEAS Space Journal","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Low-density polyethylene, thin-film, gamma sterilization, planetary protection","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9178346/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9178346/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe material selection for the hull of a sounding balloon as reference application for the use on Mars requires, among other aspects, the consideration of planetary protection. One candidate material, 5 \u0026micro;m low-density polyethylene (LDPE) thin-film, cannot be sterilized through common methods in the space industry like dry heat microbial removal, but for example through gamma irradiation, which is commonly used in the medical sector. In order to quantify the impact of gamma radiation on the strength of LDPE, several samples were sterilized with absorbed doses between 18 and 50 kGy. Afterwards, the bio burden of the samples for each dose were assessed together with their remaining tensile strength. The investigation showed statistically significant changes of strength in the film\u0026rsquo;s longitudinal and lateral direction due to scission and cross-link effects on the material polymers. 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