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How CubeSats could harm the ozone layer

The proliferation of miniature satellites — and a possible switch to iodine exhaust — could have unintended consequences.
Earth’s atmosphere from space.

Earth’s atmosphere from space. The stratosphere, which includes the ozone layer, extends to roughly 50 kilometres above the planet’s surface. Credit: NASA/SPL

Iodine is seen as a promising replacement for the more costly xenon in the thrusters of miniature satellites such as CubeSats. Researchers have now calculated the risks that the iodine exhaust could pose to Earth’s protective stratospheric ozone layer1.

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Nature 616, 633 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-01281-w

References

  1. Feng, W., Plane, J. M. C., Chipperfield, M. P., Saiz-Lopez, A. & Booth, J.-P. Geophys. Res. Lett. 50, e2022GL102300 (2023).

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