AEROGELS- MATERIALS WITH LOW THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY AND DENSITY- CAN BE USED AS THERMAL BARRIERS ON SPACECRAFT. RECENT WORK AT NASA GLENN RESEARCH CENTER HAS DEMONSTRATED THAT ALUMINOSILICATE AEROGELS RETAIN HIGH SURFACE AREA AND MESOPOROUS STRUCTURE UPON 24- HOUR EXPOSURE TO 1200 C. HOWEVER FOR EXPOSURE LONGER THAN 24 HOURS THE MESOPOROUS STRUCTURE OF THE AEROGEL COLLAPSES SURFACE AREA DECREASES FROM 379 M2/G BY MORE THAN 50% AND THE DESIRABLE THERMAL PROPERTIES ARE LOST. THEREFORE THE PROPOSED RESEARCH AIMS TO INVESTIGATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF YTTRIA-STABILIZED ZIRCONIA (YSZ) AEROGELS. YSZ IS KNOWN TO HAVE HIGH THERMAL STABILITY AND IS USED AS A THERMAL BARRIER COATING IN AIRCRAFT. THE SYNTHESIS AND PROCESSING METHODS OF YSZ AEROGELS WILL BE EXPLORED TO ENHANCE THE THERMAL STABILITY OF THE SYSTEMS. SOL-GEL CHEMISTRIES TO STUDY INCLUDE VARYING THE YTTRIA AND WATER CONTENT IN THE FORMULATION OF THE YSZ GELS. SYNTHESIS METHODS TO INVESTIGATE INCLUDE CITRIC ACID COMPLEXING AND USING NON-AQUEOUS SOLVENTS. DRYING TECHNIQUES TO COMPARE INCLUDE TRADITIONAL DRYING VIA SOLVENT EVAPORATION AND SUPERCRITICAL DRYING. IT IS EXPECTED THAT NEW SYNTHESIS AND PROCESS ROUTES WILL YIELD YSZ AEROGELS WITH INCREASED SURFACE AREA RETAINED MESOPOROUS STRUCTURE AND MINIMIZED VOLUME SHRINKING UPON EXPOSURE TO 1200 C FOR GREATER THAN 24 HOURS