Result of a Grain of Sand Colliding With an Aluminum Plate at 6,700 MPH

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ESA

Space debris of all shapes and sizes can cause an incredible amount of damage to spacecraft once they are in orbit.

In order to prepare for potential damage at high speeds, space agencies run all types of tests to get an idea of what could happen and how to prevent issues from taking place.

Recently, researchers at the European Space Agency tested the sheet of aluminum in the picture above by shooting different objects at it, at extremely high speeds.

The hole in the aluminum plate came from a grain of sand fired at the piece of metal at an astonishing 6,700 mph!

For some context, the main hole in the image is 28×12 millimeters across.

Marshall Smith

Technology, engineering, and design enthusiast.