Space junk monitor makes progress

A joint Brazilian-Russian facility to monitor debris in space is due to begin operations in February.

On 5 December, the Russian space agency Roscosmos began installing the telescope at the Pico dos Dias Observatory, part of the National Laboratory of Astrophysics in Brasópolis.

The telescope will work in conjunction with a second instrument in Russia to monitor the path of space debris and create a reference database. This information will then be used in future missions, to prevent new satellites colliding with orbiting junk and to raise concerns about material that could be on a collision course with Earth.