The young minds space-proofing ESA’s missions

Protecting spacecraft from reactive oxygen

National Graduate Trainee Maciej Skorupski studies ways that materials in space are damaged by atomic oxygen – highly reactive individual oxygen atoms.

“I have the unique opportunity to operate the only atomic oxygen facility in Europe,” he says. “Having access to state-of-the-art instruments and gaining experience in ESA laboratories helps me work towards my career goal: contributing to human space exploration through materials engineering.”

In the upper atmosphere, UV light breaks molecular oxygen into two highly reactive atoms. “Atomic oxygen is one of the most aggressive environmental factors affecting spacecraft materials in low Earth orbit,” explains Maciej. “It erodes polymers, degrades protective coatings and alters surface chemistry, leading to reduced performance or premature failure of spacecraft components.”

With ESA’s Low Earth Orbit Facility,

LEOX

, Maciej replicates real orbital conditions by generating atomic oxygen moving at extremely high speed. His work focuses on understanding erosion mechanisms and evaluating the durability of candidate materials, providing data essential for designing more robust spacecraft and improving long-term mission reliability.