As a first step in collecting space debris, the National Space Development Agency of Japan’s (NASDA) satellite, mu-Lab Sat, last month captured images of a small target jettisoned from the satellite. Mu-Lab Sat, whose mass is only 50 kilograms, is a microsatellite launched piggyback with Midori-II by the H-IIA F4 rocket on Dec. 14. Sophisticated software technology is required to identify a small target and capture pictures in strong sunlight with the gleaming earth in the background.