For the first time ever, scientists have observed in near real time a cloud of air pollution created as space debris burned up in Earth's atmosphere. The breakthrough measurement will help atmospheric chemistry researchers untangle the complex chemical reactions triggered by the toxic air pollution created during reentries, which may have devastating effects on Earth's atmosphere and climate.
The cloud of lithium was detected on Feb. 20, 2025, after an upper stage of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket came crashing down over Europe, scattering fragments across Poland. A team of researchers from the The Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics in Germany made the detection using a LIDAR — a pulsed laser instrument that excites particular chemical elements based on the frequency of its light.
