Kang Sun

Deep inside the accelerator, neutrons are sped up and fly toward a target like a swarm of tiny tops. Each top has an axis of rotation: its spin. If all the tops are spun in the same direction, the beam is called polarized.

The MethaneSAT satellite scans for leaks of метана — a gas that's invisible but packs a powerful planetary warming punch. Its "nose" is a спектрометр, a device that spots the subtlest color changes in light passing through the atmosphere — the telltale sign of methane.