A satellite painted with one of the darkest materials ever created by humans, known as "Vantablack," will launch into space next year to help researchers try and solve a major issue that's plaguing astronomers across the globe.
There are more than 14,900 satellites orbiting Earth. But experts predict that, within the next 50 years or so, the number of active spacecraft in low Earth orbit (LEO) could rise to more than 100,000. This sharp rise is thanks to private satellite "megaconstellations," such as SpaceX's Starlink network, which already accounts for more than 60% of the total number of spacecraft circling our planet. These machines are causing several problems that scientists are only just starting to properly understand, including uncontrolled reentries, radio signal interference — and light pollution.
