Science Graphic of the Week: Using Cameras and Fancy Algorithms to Track Spinning Space Junk

Humans have launched thousands of satellites into orbit, many of which are now useless and dangerously in the way of future space missions. NASA wants this space junk cleared out, but many pieces are spinning so wildly that they would be dangerous to collect. To solve this problem, a team from MIT has come up with an algorithm that could let cleanup crews measure a target's movement so they can plan an approach to safely snatch it up. The team sent their algorithm up to the International Space Station, where astronauts tested it using two SPHERES satellites, volleyball-sized bots being tested as swarming space helpers. As one satellite floated and spun, another filmed the action using a pair of linked cameras, spaced slightly apart.