rus
Issue #3-4/2026
B.A.Loginov, V.A.Bespalov, Yu.V.Khripunov, A.B.Loginov, V.B.Loginov, E.V.Loginova, A.A.Panfilov, D.A.Pashkov, D.S.Shevchenko, Z.A.Abdrakhmanova, A.A.Amangeldi, N.F.Beisembai, Z.D.Zhambyl, I.N.Isaeva, D.T.Kazbayeva, G.E.Kozhakeldi, A.A.Madi, G.D.Murat, N.N
THE WORLD’S FIRST OBSERVATION OF CHANGES IN THE NANOSTRUCTURE OF A MATERIAL SURFACE AS IT ENTERS THE ATMOSPHERE AT SPACE-TRAVEL SPEED WHILE FALLING TOWARDS EARTH
THE WORLD’S FIRST OBSERVATION OF CHANGES IN THE NANOSTRUCTURE OF A MATERIAL SURFACE AS IT ENTERS THE ATMOSPHERE AT SPACE-TRAVEL SPEED WHILE FALLING TOWARDS EARTH
Received: 4.05.2026 | Accepted: 12.05.2026 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.22184/1993-8578.2026.19.3-4.170.177
Original paper
THE WORLD’S FIRST OBSERVATION OF CHANGES IN THE NANOSTRUCTURE OF A MATERIAL SURFACE AS IT ENTERS THE ATMOSPHERE AT SPACE-TRAVEL SPEED WHILE FALLING TOWARDS EARTH
B.A.Loginov1, 4, 5, Head of Project, ORCID: 0000-0001-5081-1424 / b-loginov@mail.ru
V.A.Bespalov1, Doct. of Sci. (Tech), Corresponding Member of RAS, ORCID: 0000-0003-4976-8515
Yu.V.Khripunov2, 5, Cand. of Sci. (Physics and Mathematics), ORCID: 0000-0003-2250-0420
A.B.Loginov1, 3, 4, Cand. of Sci. (Physics and Mathematics), ORCID: 0000-0003-2090-5301
V.B.Loginov1, 4, Leading Designer, ORCID: 0000-0002-2116-7411
E.V.Loginova7, ORCID: 0009-0005-4571-1492
A.A.Panfilov2, Cand. of Sci. (Tech), ORCID: 0009-0008-4726-8414
D.A.Pashkov8, Leading Designer, ORCID: 0009-0004-9027-2671
D.S.Shevchenko5, ORCID: 0009-0009-8866-0268
Z.A.Abdrakhmanova5, 6, ORCID: 0009-0002-0855-5687
A.A.Amangeldi5, 6, ORCID: 0009-0003-1605-1267
N.F.Beisembai5, 6, ORCID: 0009-0005-1971-223X
Z.D.Zhambyl5, 6, ORCID: 0009-0005-4761-512X
I.N.Isaeva5, 6, ORCID: 0009-0009-7726-8201
D.T.Kazbayeva5, 6, ORCID: 0009-0001-9200-1136
G.E.Kozhakeldi5, 6, ORCID: 0009-0004-4041-271X
A.A.Madi5, 6, ORCID: 0009-0001-8564-2680
G.D.Murat5, 6, ORCID: 0009-0000-0052-673X
N.N.Perevay5, 6, ORCID: 0009-0006-3242-6163
K.S.Taukenova5, 6, ORCID: 0009-0006-3242-6163
B.B.Temirbek5, 6, ORCID: 0009-0009-2686-0766
Abstract. The world’s first images have been captured of metal (gold) plate destruction as it plunges into Earth’s atmosphere at cosmic speeds. The footage was captured by the world’s first "SMM-2000S" space-based scanning probe microscope during its burn-up as it re-entered the atmosphere from orbit aboard the "Nanozond-1" satellite. Analysis of these images revealed that the atmosphere has a significant effect on the surface nanostructure of materials at altitudes above 100 kilometres. Experiments confirming this have been carried out on Earth.
Keywords: scanning probe microscope, Earth satellite, Earth’s atmosphere
For citation: B.A. Loginov, V.A. Bespalov, Yu.V. Khripunov, A.B. Loginov, V.B. Loginov, E.V. Loginova, A.A. Panfilov, D.A. Pashkov, D.S. Shevchenko, Z.A. Abdrakhmanova, A.A. Amangeldi, N.F. Beisembai, Z.D. Zhambyl, I.N. Isaeva, D.T. Kazbayeva, G.E. Kozhakeldi, A.A. Madi, G.D. Murat, N.N. Perevay, K.S. Taukenova, B.B. Temirbek. The world’s first observation of changes in the nanostructure of a material surface as it enters the atmosphere at space-travel speed while falling towards Earth. NANOINDUSTRY. 2026. Vol. 19. No. 3-4. PP. 170–177. https://doi.org/10.22184/1993-8578.2026.19.3-4.170.177.
INTRODUCTION
On 27 June 2023, Russia launched the world’s first [1] satellite-based scanning probe microscope, the "SMM-2000S", aboard the Earth satellite "Nanosond-1". With a magnification of 50,000 and nanometre-level precision, it captures and transmits via radio link to Earth images of the surface relief of an initially flat (Fig.1a) metallic (gold) mirror [2] exposed to space. Various particles, dust motes, solar wind ions and sunlight strike the mirror. For the first time in the world, footage was captured of the surface being eroded by the solar wind (Fig.1b), and the mechanism by which cosmic dust is formed from all spacecraft as a result of this was discovered [3]. The effect of the resulting surface bumps being smoothed out by sunlight (Fig.1c) was also recorded for the first time [4]. Using vacuum chambers that approximate space conditions, the search has begun for new materials that are minimally eroded by ions and can be "healed" by light, which will allow for thinner hulls and an increase in the payload capacity of spacecraft.
NEW EXPERIMENT
The space microscope operated without a hitch for almost three years, capturing hundreds of images, but gradually descended into a lower orbit due to Earth’s gravitational pull. By Cosmonautics Day (marking the world’s first human spaceflight by Yuri Gagarin), 12 April, it had descended to 250 km, and we observed images of the metal surface entering the atmosphere right up until the satellite began to burn up in the dense layers of the atmosphere and ceased transmitting images on the morning of 20 April 2026 (Fig.2).
It was precisely by observing these images, and comparing them with images of the relatively flat surface reliefs preceding them (Fig.1c), that a preliminary conclusion was reached: that significant interaction between the atmosphere and the surface of a body moving through it at space velocity begins at an altitude of at least 150 km (Fig.2b). To verify this, and at the same time to check the correct operation of the space microscope – which could have produced inaccurate images under the harsh conditions of atmospheric impact, even though it was designed to withstand them – experiments were conducted that approximated the situation in space. The experiments were carried out in collaboration with a large team of talented secondary school pupils, selected from all corners of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Fig.3), a country long renowned for the Baikonur Cosmodrome, as part of the "Second Talent Summit" organised by the Sirius Educational Centre in Astana immediately following the destruction of the space microscope, 24–26 April, 2026.
Using a 3000 W brushless motor (Fig.4a) rotating at up to 350,000 revolutions per minute, and by securing a gold sample with a diameter of 68 mm to the end of one of the motor’s cooling fins (Fig.4b), according with our calculation we succeeded in achieving a linear velocity of the sample of approximately 1,250 metres per second, which is only six times less than the first cosmic velocity. On the sample with an immersion-gilded surface (Fig.4c), an effect very similar to that observed in space was observed, involving the disruption of the original surface grain nanostructure (Fig.4d), which confirmed the accuracy of the space images.
Regardless of this, a schoolgirl from Moscow (Fig.5a) carried out the same experiments, but using a sample coated with "hard gold" containing galvanic additives (cobalt, nickel). The acceleration of the sample to high speeds was recorded using a thermal imager (Figs.5b, 5c). The acceleration also resulted in surface damage (Fig.5d), but with shallower cracks and a restructuring of the remaining structure into a finer one from the same initial state as that of immersion gold (Fig.4c).
CONCLUSIONS
This brief report thus demonstrates the acquisition of nanometre-resolution images of material surfaces under extremely challenging operational conditions; this work will be continued on future SMM-2000 series space probe microscopes to be launched into space [5], including those designed for landing on Venus. Furthermore, a methodology has been developed for testing materials under conditions approximating those encountered during atmospheric entry, which makes it possible to further optimise materials for descent vehicles.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was carried out in partnership with the National Research University MIET and PROTON Plant JSC in Zelenograd, the I.S.Turgenev Orel State University, and "Sirius" Educational Centre in collaboration with schools in Moscow and Kazakhstan, the company "Sputniks", Lomonosov Moscow State University and the Innovation Promotion Fund, Russia, under the "Planet Watch" programme, which provided financial support for the launch of the world’s first space probe microscope.
We would also like to express our gratitude to amateur radio operators around the world who actively and enthusiastically received images from the "Nanosond-1" satellite (Fig.5). Our communication with you has led us to realise that in time-critical situations, such as a rapid descent from orbit, data from satellite payloads can be transmitted in the amateur SSTV format, enabling you to "pass the satellite from hand to hand" amongst yourselves and receive data from space experiments almost continuously throughout their entire orbit around the Earth. Also, we would like to thank all the amateur radio operators in Russia who received images from the "Nanozond-1" satellite: Dmitry Aksenov R6DWQ, Krasnodar; Anton Artemov UB6HWD, Mikhailovsk, Stavropol Krai; Alexander Zaev UA2020SWL, Kaliningrad; Sergey Ignatenko RA0SAB, Angarsk; Pavel Likhovtsov R3DOD, Moscow Region; Mikhail Prokhorenko and Vladimir Kolpakov R1WAT, Pskov (Director of the Planetarium Municipal Budgetary Institution); Ivan and Ksenia Konyshev R1CBC, Lehtusi; Nikita Sobolev R9OOT, Novosibirsk, Andrey Mulgin R3TAB and Andrey Shvedov from Nizhny Novgorod, Gennady Sukhov and school pupils Nikolay Sukhov, Semyon Polovnikov, Alisa Kochkurova, Anastasia Klimina, and Daniil Muravyov from Semenov, Nizhny Novgorod Region, Mikhail Tretyakov UB9YCL, Barnaul, Hasan Hasanov UB6EAV from Ust-Dzheguta, Tatyana Chikh and Sasha from Saratov, and we thank radio amateurs not only from Russia (we also thank radio amateurs from all over the world): John David Trolinger N5ZKK Kerrville, Texas, USA, Delbert Long K7PD, Utan, USA, Funing Mo BG7XTQ Nanning People’s Republic of China, Varun Dwarakanath VU3IPU Bangalore, India, Eugen Gez DO1EG, Hamburg, Germany, Jose Angel Rivas EB3EIC, Sodupe, España, Ben Zandstra PE2BZ, Netherlands, Merkouris Gogos SV2HWM Thessaloniki, Greece, Vladimir Cherny EU1SAT, Minsk, Belarus, Evgeny Savchenko UR1358SWL, Ukraine, Klinden Flores Lima OA4DEX, Lima, Peru, Juan Jesús Ramos Viciedo CM6JVR, Sancti Spíritus, Cuba, David Alejandro Saavedra HJ3DSH, Bogota, Colombia, Igor Monteiro PU4ELT, Pará de Minas, Brazil, Juan León Díaz CD1NLD, Antofagasta, Chile, Boris Oliveros Burgos HJ5RTD, Cali, Colombia.
PEER REVIEW INFO
Editorial board thanks the anonymous reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work. It is also grateful for their consent to publish papers on the journal’s website and SEL eLibrary eLIBRARY.RU.
Declaration of Competing Interest. The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Original paper
THE WORLD’S FIRST OBSERVATION OF CHANGES IN THE NANOSTRUCTURE OF A MATERIAL SURFACE AS IT ENTERS THE ATMOSPHERE AT SPACE-TRAVEL SPEED WHILE FALLING TOWARDS EARTH
B.A.Loginov1, 4, 5, Head of Project, ORCID: 0000-0001-5081-1424 / b-loginov@mail.ru
V.A.Bespalov1, Doct. of Sci. (Tech), Corresponding Member of RAS, ORCID: 0000-0003-4976-8515
Yu.V.Khripunov2, 5, Cand. of Sci. (Physics and Mathematics), ORCID: 0000-0003-2250-0420
A.B.Loginov1, 3, 4, Cand. of Sci. (Physics and Mathematics), ORCID: 0000-0003-2090-5301
V.B.Loginov1, 4, Leading Designer, ORCID: 0000-0002-2116-7411
E.V.Loginova7, ORCID: 0009-0005-4571-1492
A.A.Panfilov2, Cand. of Sci. (Tech), ORCID: 0009-0008-4726-8414
D.A.Pashkov8, Leading Designer, ORCID: 0009-0004-9027-2671
D.S.Shevchenko5, ORCID: 0009-0009-8866-0268
Z.A.Abdrakhmanova5, 6, ORCID: 0009-0002-0855-5687
A.A.Amangeldi5, 6, ORCID: 0009-0003-1605-1267
N.F.Beisembai5, 6, ORCID: 0009-0005-1971-223X
Z.D.Zhambyl5, 6, ORCID: 0009-0005-4761-512X
I.N.Isaeva5, 6, ORCID: 0009-0009-7726-8201
D.T.Kazbayeva5, 6, ORCID: 0009-0001-9200-1136
G.E.Kozhakeldi5, 6, ORCID: 0009-0004-4041-271X
A.A.Madi5, 6, ORCID: 0009-0001-8564-2680
G.D.Murat5, 6, ORCID: 0009-0000-0052-673X
N.N.Perevay5, 6, ORCID: 0009-0006-3242-6163
K.S.Taukenova5, 6, ORCID: 0009-0006-3242-6163
B.B.Temirbek5, 6, ORCID: 0009-0009-2686-0766
Abstract. The world’s first images have been captured of metal (gold) plate destruction as it plunges into Earth’s atmosphere at cosmic speeds. The footage was captured by the world’s first "SMM-2000S" space-based scanning probe microscope during its burn-up as it re-entered the atmosphere from orbit aboard the "Nanozond-1" satellite. Analysis of these images revealed that the atmosphere has a significant effect on the surface nanostructure of materials at altitudes above 100 kilometres. Experiments confirming this have been carried out on Earth.
Keywords: scanning probe microscope, Earth satellite, Earth’s atmosphere
For citation: B.A. Loginov, V.A. Bespalov, Yu.V. Khripunov, A.B. Loginov, V.B. Loginov, E.V. Loginova, A.A. Panfilov, D.A. Pashkov, D.S. Shevchenko, Z.A. Abdrakhmanova, A.A. Amangeldi, N.F. Beisembai, Z.D. Zhambyl, I.N. Isaeva, D.T. Kazbayeva, G.E. Kozhakeldi, A.A. Madi, G.D. Murat, N.N. Perevay, K.S. Taukenova, B.B. Temirbek. The world’s first observation of changes in the nanostructure of a material surface as it enters the atmosphere at space-travel speed while falling towards Earth. NANOINDUSTRY. 2026. Vol. 19. No. 3-4. PP. 170–177. https://doi.org/10.22184/1993-8578.2026.19.3-4.170.177.
INTRODUCTION
On 27 June 2023, Russia launched the world’s first [1] satellite-based scanning probe microscope, the "SMM-2000S", aboard the Earth satellite "Nanosond-1". With a magnification of 50,000 and nanometre-level precision, it captures and transmits via radio link to Earth images of the surface relief of an initially flat (Fig.1a) metallic (gold) mirror [2] exposed to space. Various particles, dust motes, solar wind ions and sunlight strike the mirror. For the first time in the world, footage was captured of the surface being eroded by the solar wind (Fig.1b), and the mechanism by which cosmic dust is formed from all spacecraft as a result of this was discovered [3]. The effect of the resulting surface bumps being smoothed out by sunlight (Fig.1c) was also recorded for the first time [4]. Using vacuum chambers that approximate space conditions, the search has begun for new materials that are minimally eroded by ions and can be "healed" by light, which will allow for thinner hulls and an increase in the payload capacity of spacecraft.
NEW EXPERIMENT
The space microscope operated without a hitch for almost three years, capturing hundreds of images, but gradually descended into a lower orbit due to Earth’s gravitational pull. By Cosmonautics Day (marking the world’s first human spaceflight by Yuri Gagarin), 12 April, it had descended to 250 km, and we observed images of the metal surface entering the atmosphere right up until the satellite began to burn up in the dense layers of the atmosphere and ceased transmitting images on the morning of 20 April 2026 (Fig.2).
It was precisely by observing these images, and comparing them with images of the relatively flat surface reliefs preceding them (Fig.1c), that a preliminary conclusion was reached: that significant interaction between the atmosphere and the surface of a body moving through it at space velocity begins at an altitude of at least 150 km (Fig.2b). To verify this, and at the same time to check the correct operation of the space microscope – which could have produced inaccurate images under the harsh conditions of atmospheric impact, even though it was designed to withstand them – experiments were conducted that approximated the situation in space. The experiments were carried out in collaboration with a large team of talented secondary school pupils, selected from all corners of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Fig.3), a country long renowned for the Baikonur Cosmodrome, as part of the "Second Talent Summit" organised by the Sirius Educational Centre in Astana immediately following the destruction of the space microscope, 24–26 April, 2026.
Using a 3000 W brushless motor (Fig.4a) rotating at up to 350,000 revolutions per minute, and by securing a gold sample with a diameter of 68 mm to the end of one of the motor’s cooling fins (Fig.4b), according with our calculation we succeeded in achieving a linear velocity of the sample of approximately 1,250 metres per second, which is only six times less than the first cosmic velocity. On the sample with an immersion-gilded surface (Fig.4c), an effect very similar to that observed in space was observed, involving the disruption of the original surface grain nanostructure (Fig.4d), which confirmed the accuracy of the space images.
Regardless of this, a schoolgirl from Moscow (Fig.5a) carried out the same experiments, but using a sample coated with "hard gold" containing galvanic additives (cobalt, nickel). The acceleration of the sample to high speeds was recorded using a thermal imager (Figs.5b, 5c). The acceleration also resulted in surface damage (Fig.5d), but with shallower cracks and a restructuring of the remaining structure into a finer one from the same initial state as that of immersion gold (Fig.4c).
CONCLUSIONS
This brief report thus demonstrates the acquisition of nanometre-resolution images of material surfaces under extremely challenging operational conditions; this work will be continued on future SMM-2000 series space probe microscopes to be launched into space [5], including those designed for landing on Venus. Furthermore, a methodology has been developed for testing materials under conditions approximating those encountered during atmospheric entry, which makes it possible to further optimise materials for descent vehicles.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was carried out in partnership with the National Research University MIET and PROTON Plant JSC in Zelenograd, the I.S.Turgenev Orel State University, and "Sirius" Educational Centre in collaboration with schools in Moscow and Kazakhstan, the company "Sputniks", Lomonosov Moscow State University and the Innovation Promotion Fund, Russia, under the "Planet Watch" programme, which provided financial support for the launch of the world’s first space probe microscope.
We would also like to express our gratitude to amateur radio operators around the world who actively and enthusiastically received images from the "Nanosond-1" satellite (Fig.5). Our communication with you has led us to realise that in time-critical situations, such as a rapid descent from orbit, data from satellite payloads can be transmitted in the amateur SSTV format, enabling you to "pass the satellite from hand to hand" amongst yourselves and receive data from space experiments almost continuously throughout their entire orbit around the Earth. Also, we would like to thank all the amateur radio operators in Russia who received images from the "Nanozond-1" satellite: Dmitry Aksenov R6DWQ, Krasnodar; Anton Artemov UB6HWD, Mikhailovsk, Stavropol Krai; Alexander Zaev UA2020SWL, Kaliningrad; Sergey Ignatenko RA0SAB, Angarsk; Pavel Likhovtsov R3DOD, Moscow Region; Mikhail Prokhorenko and Vladimir Kolpakov R1WAT, Pskov (Director of the Planetarium Municipal Budgetary Institution); Ivan and Ksenia Konyshev R1CBC, Lehtusi; Nikita Sobolev R9OOT, Novosibirsk, Andrey Mulgin R3TAB and Andrey Shvedov from Nizhny Novgorod, Gennady Sukhov and school pupils Nikolay Sukhov, Semyon Polovnikov, Alisa Kochkurova, Anastasia Klimina, and Daniil Muravyov from Semenov, Nizhny Novgorod Region, Mikhail Tretyakov UB9YCL, Barnaul, Hasan Hasanov UB6EAV from Ust-Dzheguta, Tatyana Chikh and Sasha from Saratov, and we thank radio amateurs not only from Russia (we also thank radio amateurs from all over the world): John David Trolinger N5ZKK Kerrville, Texas, USA, Delbert Long K7PD, Utan, USA, Funing Mo BG7XTQ Nanning People’s Republic of China, Varun Dwarakanath VU3IPU Bangalore, India, Eugen Gez DO1EG, Hamburg, Germany, Jose Angel Rivas EB3EIC, Sodupe, España, Ben Zandstra PE2BZ, Netherlands, Merkouris Gogos SV2HWM Thessaloniki, Greece, Vladimir Cherny EU1SAT, Minsk, Belarus, Evgeny Savchenko UR1358SWL, Ukraine, Klinden Flores Lima OA4DEX, Lima, Peru, Juan Jesús Ramos Viciedo CM6JVR, Sancti Spíritus, Cuba, David Alejandro Saavedra HJ3DSH, Bogota, Colombia, Igor Monteiro PU4ELT, Pará de Minas, Brazil, Juan León Díaz CD1NLD, Antofagasta, Chile, Boris Oliveros Burgos HJ5RTD, Cali, Colombia.
PEER REVIEW INFO
Editorial board thanks the anonymous reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work. It is also grateful for their consent to publish papers on the journal’s website and SEL eLibrary eLIBRARY.RU.
Declaration of Competing Interest. The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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