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Science
THE MATERIAL WORLD
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Thursday 16:30-17:00
Quentin Cooper reports on developments across the sciences. Each week scientists describe their work, conveying the excitement they feel for their research projects.
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LISTEN AGAINListenÌý30 min
Listen to 04 OctoberÌý
PRESENTER
QUENTIN COOPER
Quentin Cooper
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ThursdayÌý04 OctoberÌý2007
computer generated image of orbital debris
Space Jam: 50 years of accumulated debris
Credit:ÌýNASA


SPACE TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT

50 years ago, Sputnik 1 the first man made object to orbit the Earth was launched by the Soviet Union.

In the five decades since, 100s of satellites have followed in its path. Today, 863 satellites orbit Earth.

They are operated by 41 countries but no individual agency knows exactly where they all are at any one time – so the chances of big and expensive collisions are on the increase.

Quentin talks to Ben Baseley Walker and Theresa Hitchens about bold new proposals for Space Traffic Management, why space debris is on the rise and whether catastrophic orbital pile-ups are imminent.

MEMORIES FOR LIFE

Also in the programme why your whole lifetime of experience could be put into gigabytes of storage space.
Quentin meets Nigel Shadbolt, chairman of the Memories for Life grand challenge and Yorick Wilks from the Oxford Internet Institute to find out about a project to merge digital and physical worlds and how in the near future we could be storing all our memories for ever.

Who will keep them, could they be kept private and how would it change our own concept of who we are?

Quentin Cooper will also be celebrating National Poetry day with poems from Ashley Harrold.

NEXT WEEK:ÌýÌýÌýThe Peppered moth - the moth that changed its spots ...

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