DISCOVERIES
HEALING HANDS
Chimps use bugs to treat each other’s wounds p19
GOOD REACTION
Fusion power may be a little closer p20
GREEN GENE
Your love of nature could be written in your DNA p21
HOLE LOT OF DUST
New perspective of black hole confirms 30-year theory p22
ALAMY
SPACE
HOW CAN WE SOLVE THE SPACE JUNK PROBLEM?
Recent news of an out-of-control rocket crashing into the Moon sounds dramatic, but it’s the millions of pieces of smaller debris that present the real danger, according to a UK expert
In January, Elon Musk’s SpaceX once again made headline news: a large section of rocket booster belonging to the spacef light company was found to be on course to smash into the Moon. The errant chunk of space junk, which has been careering around the Earth for the last seven years, was spotted by American astronomer Bill Gray. He identified it as the upper section of a Falcon 9 rocket, launched from Florida in 2015, which had run out of fuel and become trapped in an ‘chaotic orbit’. Many internet pundits and social media users were incensed.