Systems and methods are provided for protecting a temperature sensitive object. A system includes a temperature sensitive object and a thermal control material in thermal communication with the temperature sensitive object. The thermal control material has an emissivity that varies as a function of temperature, and includes a substrate comprising a first surface comprising one of a photonic crystal, a metamaterial, a metasurface, and a multilayer film, a solid state phase change material in contact with the surface, and a reflective thin film material at one of a second surface of the substrate, at a surface of the solid state phase change material, and on an opposite side of an optical cavity from the substrate.