Contents I. Introduction
With the vigorous development of China's space industry, the impact of space environmental factors on spacecraft has received more and more attention. During the on-orbit operation of the spacecraft, the surface charging of the exposed materials of the spacecraft seriously threatens the regular operation of the spacecraft and the normal work of its precision instruments. The photoelectron emission yield of materials is a key parameter affecting the degree of spacecraft surface charging, and the study of photoelectron emission theory and experimental test technology is of great significance to the selection of spacecraft surface materials and the overall design of spacecraft. When the spacecraft is in orbit in the space environment, it suffers from electromagnetic radiation from the sun for a long time, of which the ultraviolet light component, although not accounting for a significant proportion, is more likely to interact with the material because of its considerable photon energy, thus leading to the generation of photocurrent in the spacecraft. As an essential material for spacecraft, the photoelectron emission yield of metallic aluminum is necessary for spacecraft surface charging and discharging. Therefore, to address the significant need for spacecraft surface charge suppression, this paper numerically calculates and experimentally investigates the photoelectron emission yield spectra of metallic aluminum under vacuum ultraviolet light irradiation.
