According to reports, researchers are looking forward to send a spacecraft into low-Earth orbit to consume a small satellite. Their plan is related to a campaign to clear out the increasing clutter in space. In the project named the CleanSpace One, researchers have been making efforts to deal with the space clutter by safely tracking, collecting and disposing of satellites considered as clutter.

On Monday, the team came up with the "Pac-Man" technique, in which, a spacecraft has a big conical net extending from the front that closes, when it "eats" the satellite, similar to the iconic video game character munching on a dot. As per reports, they are targeting a cubesat called as SwissCube, which is just 4 inches to a side.

EPFL's Michel Lauria explained in a video showing the prototype, "The idea is to have the biggest aperture possible, to increase the chance to eat the cube while it's near the chaser". It is necessary to make sure that the cube doesn't bounce back out before the net closes, therefore there should be precise measurements of position and speed.

For the time being, the team will be creating working models of the prototype Pac-Man system and it is expected that Cleanspace One could be launched in 2018.

Space is having many types of clutter such as old satellites and used rockets. Over 500,000 pieces of space debris are being tracked by NASA. As per reports, most of these pieces are small, however they still are a danger for spacecraft and also to the International Space Station.