Scientists pursue satellite fall to study the atmospheric pollution of spaceship reentry

Scientists take advantage of the spectacular air persecution of a fall satellite to collect rare data on the burnt spaceship’s air pollution. In September 2024, a group of European researchers jumped on a plane equipped with 26 cameras and flew to the night sky to watch the satellite cluster parsley make his flaming return to Earth over the Pacific Ocean. The mission, launched on Easter Island, sought chemical by -products that would have been released during the short reentry event of meteoros. Despite the brightness of bright natural light that prevented a clear view, the researchers first captured images of the satellite fracturing and chemicals being released when it fell to the earth.

Satellite reentries can affect ozone and climate, scientists warn

According to the report Presented at the European Conference on Spatial debris, the reentry produced lithium, potassium and aluminum emissions – elements with potential to impact the ozone layer and Land climate. Stefan Löhle of the University of Stuttgart mentioned that the weak satellite trail indicated that the pieces walked away and burned with less ferocity than expected. The satellite began to disintegrate about 80 kilometers above sea level, and the observations stopped at a height of about 40 kilometers due to visual extinction.

Such events are increasingly important to monitor as satellite reentries grow frequency. Although spacecraft like those in Spacex Starlink The fleet is made to completely burn, surviving debris and dust particles can still affect the upper atmosphere, scientists warn. Aluminum oxide of melting satellites, for example, may be involved in long -term atmospheric effects, such as changes in thermal balance and ozone destruction.

This mission only marks the fifth time spacecraft The reentry was observed in the air. Researchers expect to align their data collected with computer models to estimate the amount of lost mass satellites during disintegration and how this mass interacts chemically with the atmosphere. The data also suggest that some 550 -kilometer cluster parsley titanium components may have survived reentry and landing in the Pacific Ocean.

As more satellites return to Earth, researchers plan to repeat persecution with satellites brothers of salsa-rumba, tango and samba-desired to enter 2026. Although daytime limitations affect some measurement techniques, these missions can help clarify how space pollution influences land pollution and climate.