Space debris research is really hot at the moment, and is only going to continue to be placed in the spotlight through the EU's Horizon2020 program. I'm going to be starting my post-doc on the Stardust program (FP7) [1] in a couple of months and can't wait to get my hands on space debris missions.<p>There are a number of companies that are working on systems to remove existing space debris, as well as modules to equip new spacecraft with to ensure that they are de-orbited when they reach EOL.<p>If we hit the undesirable threshold of a self-sustaining, cascade of collisions, it's going to much harder to reverse [2].<p>Will be interesting to see what the impact of JAXA's mission is on debris removal efforts moving forward.<p>[1] <a href="http://www.strath.ac.uk/stardust/" rel="nofollow">http://www.strath.ac.uk/stardust/</a><p>[2] <a href="http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/Space_Debris/Global_experts_agree_action_needed_on_space_debris" rel="nofollow">http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/Space_Debris/Gl...</a>