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In vacuum, any liquid water on moisture in the materials of a satellite and probe will start to gas out.

So are the materials on satellites and probes baked or dried by other menas before beeing sent to orbit or is this not a problem at all?

Additionlly: how would they be kept dry inside the fairing of a rocket while it is waiting on the pad in probably humid climate around the rocket?

TrySCE2AUX
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  • The better solution is to avoid all materials that would absorb too much water. – Uwe Jan 05 '23 at 11:32
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    Fairing is air conditioned. 1 – AJN Jan 05 '23 at 12:11
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    @AJN indeed. Shuttle compartments were also purged on the pad to get that sticky Florida air out. https://space.stackexchange.com/a/25659/6944 "The purge gas makes all the unpressurized volumes inert, maintains constant humidity and temperature, forces out any hazardous gases and ensures that external contaminants cannot enter." – Organic Marble Jan 05 '23 at 15:17
  • Why would you do this? Is space-probe jerky somehow a thing? – GdD Jan 05 '23 at 15:51

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Answer: no reason to dry space probes.

Many space probes are treated with dry heat. This is done for bacterial decontamination, not to dry moisture. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetary_protection for heat sterilization protocols. Viking Landers were treated with dry heat at 112 °C for 30 hours.

Off-gassing water in space is only a concern if the off-gassing vapor is in a sealed compartment capable of generating pressure. But if it is in a sealed container, it is protected from the vacuum. Kind of a reverse Catch 22.

Liquid water evaporates until the vapor pressure reaches equilibrium pressure characteristic for that temperature. The vapor pressure depends only on temperature.

Consider 2 bottles. One is filled with room air at 50% relative humidity (RH) , the other with water (and a bit of air). The air in the second bottle had 50% RH at the time it was filled, then water evaporated into the air space until it reaches the partial pressure of water vapor appropriate for the ambient temperature. The pressure gradient across the wall of the bottle is 0.000 bar in the first case and 0.005 bar in the second. In space, first bottle will have a pressure of 1.000 bar and the second 1.005bar (at room temperature).

So the presence of liquid water in a sealed compartment is insignificant. In vented spaces, the water vaporizes and disperses.

uhoh
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Woody
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