As the performance and reliability of CubeSat systems increases, these small platforms are becoming suitable for undertaking longer-duration missions in Low Earth Orbit (e.g. in constellations), even at very low altitudes with propulsion providing drag compensation, and short/long-duration missions in the more severe MEO, GEO, lunar or deep space environments. Such missions pose challenges for materials survivability and degradation, especially for commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) materials which have not previously been qualified for those environments and might be attractive for cost reasons.

 This paper will summarise the outcome of ESA's “Materials4Cubesats Open Lab Test Campaign” which gave the European CubeSat community the opportunity to perform collaborative testing of materials using state of the art environmental testing and materials analysis facilities within the ESA ESTEC materials laboratories. The campaign was open to SME companies and research institutes/centres, engaged in the development of CubeSats. Successful experimenters were selected via a competitive selection process. A variety of different materials were tested during the campaign, including novel gecko-inspired adhesives for space debris collection, optical coatings and black paint for a star tracker, solar array materials, telescope mirrors, COTS electronic components, multi-material bolted joints and 3D printed polymer for CubeSat frame, as well as aerodynamic material for air-breathing applications. A summary of the materials tested, the test conditions and the overall results and lessons learnt will be presented. Detailed results from individual test campaigns will be the subject of separate publications by the individual experimenters.