China Just Launched a Robot That Catches Space Junk With a Net
>A space-mining startup in China just launched a robot prototype into low-Earth orbit capable of scooping up debris and other space junk left behind by earlier spacecraft — with a giant net.
>This is the latest in China's attempts to expedite its efforts to close the gap between itself, Russia, and the U.S. — and become a major space power.
>Called the NEO-01, the net-bearing space robot will also peek into deep space to observe small celestial bodies — and was launched on March 6 along with several other satellites, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency. The 66-lb (30-kg) robot was developed by the startup, Origin Space — which is based in Shenzhen — and aims to forge new roads to the future of technology capable of mining elements on asteroids, said the company.
>Since the first asteroid mining company in the world was founded in 2009 — called Planetary Resources — more than a dozen additional firms worldwide have popped up in the nascent space junk-cleaning industry, including Japan's Astroscale and 3D Systems of the United States. Astroscale's technology employs magnets to collect space junk in low-Earth orbit, but NEO-01 will use a deceptively simple-sounding net to capture debris and then burn the trash using an electric propulsion system, according to a Channel News Asia report.
https://interestingengineering.com/china-launched-robot-catches-space-junk-with-net
China is making space safe for everybody.
>A space-mining startup in China just launched a robot prototype into low-Earth orbit capable of scooping up debris and other space junk left behind by earlier spacecraft — with a giant net.
>This is the latest in China's attempts to expedite its efforts to close the gap between itself, Russia, and the U.S. — and become a major space power.
>Called the NEO-01, the net-bearing space robot will also peek into deep space to observe small celestial bodies — and was launched on March 6 along with several other satellites, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency. The 66-lb (30-kg) robot was developed by the startup, Origin Space — which is based in Shenzhen — and aims to forge new roads to the future of technology capable of mining elements on asteroids, said the company.
>Since the first asteroid mining company in the world was founded in 2009 — called Planetary Resources — more than a dozen additional firms worldwide have popped up in the nascent space junk-cleaning industry, including Japan's Astroscale and 3D Systems of the United States. Astroscale's technology employs magnets to collect space junk in low-Earth orbit, but NEO-01 will use a deceptively simple-sounding net to capture debris and then burn the trash using an electric propulsion system, according to a Channel News Asia report.
https://interestingengineering.com/china-launched-robot-catches-space-junk-with-net
China is making space safe for everybody.
