But before researchers get started, they need to ensure that their nuclear fusion reactors can withstand the extreme temperatures produced when hydrogen atoms collide to form helium.

To achieve this, engineers from Spanish company CASA Espacio are applying the engineering tech that they've used to build components for satellites, as well as rockets like the Ariane 5, Vega, and Soyuz, to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor—the world's largest nuclear fusion reactor currently being built in France.

"Forces inside ITER present similar challenges to space," explained Jose Guillamon, head of commercial and strategy at CASA Espacio, in a European Space Agency blog post.

"We can't use traditional materials like metal, which expand and contract with temperature and conduct electricity. We have to make a special composite material which is durable and lightweight, non-conductive and never changes shape," he added.