Well, I don't know how useful it is to space tech, other than in electronics, but molybdenite has been shown to have superior qualities to silicon, leading to speculation that it could be contender as a successor:http://www.dailytech.com/Researchers+Claim+Molybdenite+Outperforms+Silicon+Graphene+in+Electronics+/article20782.htmhttp://www.eetimes.com/electronics-news/4212757/New-material-for-semis-said-to-beat-siliconhttp://www.zdnet.co.uk/blogs/qubits-and-pieces-10017876/new-mineral-makes-play-for-graphenes-throne-10021592/I wonder if its properties might make it superior for solar power applications too? Molybdenite's bandgap properties are somewhere between GaAs and GaN, so that apparently opens it up for optical applications as well.