The UK Space Agency (UKSA) has given more than £ 1 million towards tracking satellites and space junk in orbit.

The money will be given to seven companies that are working on ways to develop new sensor technologies that spot objects in space, working out what they are and track them.

Finding better ways to monitor everything currently in orbit has become a big priority because, with more and more satellites being launched, there is growing concern about the possibility of collisions.

Added to that are around 900,000 objects — made up of old space equipment that no longer works, and junk like gloves and tool kits accidentally dropped by astronauts — that are still in orbit. The UK Space Agency is owned by the government and is responsible for strengthening the UK's position in the space sector (领域).

Although some space junk is very small, only around 1 cm, it could do a lot of damage and even completely destroy a spacecraft if there was a high-speed collision. It is hoped that the new research can create something like an automated traffic management system in the future, which will keep functioning satellites out of harm's way.

Jacob Geer from UKSA said: "space tracking is one of the key things we can do to keep safe those satellites we rely on now, and to make sure certain orbits don't become obstructed for future generations because there is too much junk in them."

The Ministry of Defence and UKSA recently agreed to work together when it comes to space, with both having valuable satellites in orbit that they want to protect.

The UK government is now part-owner of the One Web satellite broadband company, which has launched 74 satellites and has plans to put up thousands more.

Yue-Sai Kan was born in 1946 in Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, and grew up in Hong Kong. In 1968, while majoring in piano at the Hawaii campus of Brigham Young University, Kan entered a beauty contest sponsored by the local Chinese Chamber of Commerce. She won second place, and as a result got to travel around the world. The life-changing experience marked the beginning cf her career in fashion, beauty, communication and cultural exchange.

In 1972, she moved to New York and created the weekly television series Looking East, the first of its kind to introduce Asian cultures and customs to a growing US audience. In 1986, Kan returned to China, producing and hosting the television series One World, which was the first show ever hosted by a Chinese-American on the television network, and was a national hit. Other important projects of hers include the ABC documentary China：Walls and Bridges，which initially explored different forms of spirituality in the country over the ages.

"I worked in China for almost 40 years, and I was there to witness and contribute to the country's breakneck pace of change. This rare experience has given me a unique vision. As I say all the time, if I stay away from China for six months, I already miss so much of what is happening there！The Chinese saying'a year—small change, three years—big change' has held true all this time, "Kan says.

Kan has never stopped doing what she loves. She is currently planning to do a 10-part television series exploring and highlighting the most interesting aspects of 10 Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Chengdu. "I firmly believe that a TV series featuring these major Chinese cities is not only timely, but also necessary to educate, enlighten and entertain by showcasing the Chinese people as they live today. This will help dispel some of the misunderstandings about China in the world, "Kan says.

Throughout her life, Kan has also been deeply involved in charity. On Jan 26, she is planning to host a major charity event in San Francisco, in which she will honor 12 of the most outstanding Chinese-American women.

This International Women's Day, we're celebrating four women who changed the face of science forever.

Anandibai Joshee, born in 1865 in India, became India's first woman physician with a medical degree. After graduation from a Woman's Medical College, she accepted an offer from the governor minister of Kolhapur in India to serve as "Lady Doctor of Kolhapur". She died at 21 from tuberculosis. Despite her short life, Joshee's accomplishments were unprecedented for an Indian woman, and her achievements open the door for other Indian women to quickly follow.

Mamie Clark, an American social psychologist, specialized in child development in black children. In 1946, Clark and Kenneth founded the only mental health organization for black children in New York. Clark was awarded the American Association of University achievement award in 1973, and ten years later the National Coalition of 100 Black Women awarded her the Candace Award for humanitarianism.

Geochemist Katsuko Saruhashi was born in Tokyo in 1920. Saruhashi became the first woman elected to the Science Council of Japan, the first woman to win the Miyake Prize for Geochemistry, and the first woman recipient of an award from the Society of Sea Water Science in Japan. In 1981, she founded the Saruhashi Prize, a prize awarded annually to a female role model in science.

Born in Los Angeles, California, Ochoa was the first Latina woman to fly in space as part of the crew of the shuttle Discovery in 1993. In 1990, Ochoa was selected to astronaut candidacy as part of a group of twenty-three NASA astronauts, and became an astronaut a year later. Her first spaceflight was aboard Discovery as a mission specialist and lasted nine days, in which the crew conducted scientific experiments and deployed a research satellite to study the solar corona.