Planetary Pros: Aluminium is a very light metal, making it great for space rockets as it reduces weight and helps the fuel last longer.
It also doesn’t corrode easily, which is very important in harsh space environments.
Aluminium is fairly easy to find and it’s cheaper than quite a lot of other materials, making it a practical choice for making rocket components.
Cosmic Cons: A major problem with aluminium is it’s just not as tough as other materials.
This means it can’t be used where strength is super important.
Aluminium is also susceptible to something called ‘fatigue failure’ which means it might crack or break under pressure which can be a problem when you’re deep in space!