In 2024, ESA flew bouncing hexapods to 256 km on a Swedish sounding rocket; six minutes of microgravity showed how complex grains collide and transfer energy

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A Swedish rocket successfully launched miniature brass crosses designed for microgravity research. Scientists are investigating how these irregularly shaped particles interact and lose energy upon collision, advancing our understanding of celestial objects such as asteroids and planetary rings. The implications of this study extend to industrial applications on Earth, with preliminary results indicating that particle clusters exhibit surprising behavior in space.