The Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics The three green lasers measure winds and temperatures in the stratosphere and mesosphere. (Courtesy: Gerd Baumgarten)"> The Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics The three green lasers measure winds and temperatures in the stratosphere and mesosphere. (Courtesy: Gerd Baumgarten) Thanks to new resonance lidar measurements, researchers in Germany, the UK and Peru have successfully measured and traced a lithium plume created by a rocket stage as it uncontrollably re-entered and broke up in the upper atmosphere. The work represents the first time that upper-atmospheric pollution from space debris re-entry has been directly detected, they say. Such pollution is a growing concern and is only likely to worsen as more and more satellites are being launched into space, and in particular into low-Earth orbit.…