There is now a giant net that picks up garbage in space and it's as cool as it looks.

Planet Earth already has its plate full of challenges to reduce the amount of waste of human origin that pollute our environment.

Unfortunately, our incredible ability to create a mess is not limited to this planet. "Space debris", aka debris left by satellites, rockets and other projects, is a growing problem in Earth's orbit.

If you saw the movie "Gravity", you have an idea of ​​the difficulty, if not the death, of a small amount of space debris as it accelerates at an incredible speed in the orbit of our planet. This junk is a very real threat to the International Space Station, the Hubble Telescope and other projects.

As NASA recently wrote: "Since the beginning of the space age, a considerable amount of debris has been generated. Most objects thrown into space still gravitate around the Earth and today, these objects and their by-products pose a threat both in space and on Earth.

For example, a British team from the University of Surrey has successfully tested a net that fires to capture floating debris. It's as cool as it looks, here, a black and white video showing all its splendor:

"This is not science fiction. We repeat, not science fiction, "said a tweet from NanoRacks, a Texas-based company that helped develop the network of deployers.

The amazing new project uses 3D mapping and, yes, a real harpoon to target space debris and capture them. For this test, the team sent their own debris, which eventually progressed faster than expected, but also showed the effectiveness of the process.

But what is the point of shipping space debris if there is no way to bring it back?

Well, the test has shown that trapped debris, as well as the net itself, will eventually fall into the Earth's atmosphere, where it will burn before it can damage space or descend to Earth.

"We are absolutely delighted with the result of the network technology," said Professor Guglielmo Aglietti, director of the Surrey Space Center. "Although it may seem simple, the complexity of using a net in space to capture debris has required many years of planning, engineering, and coordination between the Surrey Space Center, Airbus, and our partners. . to be finished. These are very exciting times for all of us.