What started as a hazard for spacecraft orbiting in the upper atmosphere is now poised to save Earth’s most delicate cultural treasures. After four years of intensive research, the European project MOXY has successfully brought atomic oxygen cleaning out of high-vacuum space labs and into the real world, offering a groundbreaking, sustainable way to restore art without touching it.

The breakthrough traces its roots back to the 1980s, when two NASA scientists used atomic oxygen to clean lipstick off Andy Warhol’s Bathtub without harming the canvas. However, that process required massive, complex vacuum chambers. Led by Pisa University professor Ilaria Bonaduce, the MOXY team built prototypes - currently stationed in Pisa, Ghent, and Eindhoven - capable of directing a controlled flow of atomic oxygen at ambient pressure.

The cleaning method is entirely non-contact: no rubbing, no soaking, and no harsh chemical solvents. Tested across everything from oil and tempera paintings to historical paper, textiles, and stone, MOXY's standout achievement is its ability to obliterate soot and black pollution deposits. The atomic oxygen targets carbonaceous grime, vaporizing it into harmless carbon dioxide without leaving a single trace behind.