High marks

A special pigment that will turn from white to black with the application of a low-power CO

laser could be used to mark and identify mission-critical parts on NASA space shuttles.

The technology, from Cheshire-based

, is now being tested on the International Space Station (ISS) for potential use in future missions.

The technique was used to produce 2D barcodes on two small aluminium discs that were launched aboard

in February as part of a Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE 6). They are now sitting outside the ISS, exposed to extreme levels of UV radiation, atomic oxygen, hard vacuum and contamination before test results are revealed next February.

Mike Sorvino, Datalase laser product manager, said his company receives a monthly progress report from NASA. 'So far everything has been great,' he said.

The worst possible scenario for Datalase would be if the whole thing turned black and was unreadable, but the technology performed well under extreme UV and oxidation testing in the UK before launch. The technique has also been proven to work on US military vehicles and US Coast Guard helicopter parts.