Also called Sirius in Spain, emergency thermal blankets are an effective means of maintaining the victim’s temperature and protecting her from the elements. The striking metallic shine of these plastic sheets has an explanation: when the silver side is turned inwards (leaving the golden part visible), the blanket retains body heat up to 85% ; turned to the contrary, the reflective aluminum face will reject infrared radiation from the sun’s rays , for example. That is why marathon runners are also covered with them when they finish the test, in order to avoid the hypothermia that they can suffer when stopping suddenly. In addition, thermal blankets are very light, flexible, easy to transport in a small space, waterproof and wind resistant.
As fans of astronomical exploration will know, this type of cover is also commonly used in satellites, spacecraft, telescopes and probes to protect them from radiation and conserve their heat in the face of extreme space conditions. In fact, they were invented by NASA engineers in 1964. Normally, they are made with polyamides , a type of ultra-resistant polymers capable of withstanding temperatures between -260 and 480 degrees Celsius.
“They are as important to ships as clothing to people,” said Mike Weiss of NASA, one of Hubble’s principal engineers. Indeed, one of the basic objectives of the repair and maintenance missions of this space telescope, carried out by astronauts, has been to replace its thermal blanket coating.
