## 3 Results and Discussion
### Laser Applications in Future Space Technologies  
Experiments focusing on the interaction of lasers with real samples of interplanetary matter are also of major importance for the future space applications of laser technologies. Their technological level has witnessed a series of innovations and improvements in recent years, and, therefore, novel potential applications of laser technologies are considered. First of all, high-power lasers have been suggested for the deflection of hazardous asteroids, comets, and other near-Earth objects (NEOs), and for de-orbiting space debris [84]. One of the most significant advantages of this technology compared to other approaches [85; 86; 87] is the remote control of the NEO or debris trajectory over a long period of time without requiring complicated landing maneuvers.  
The trajectory alteration is achieved via the irradiation of the asteroid or debris surface with a high-intensity light source. Within the focus area, the energy absorption causes the sublimation of the exposed solid material into a gas. The expanding ablation plume then provides a continuous low thrust, acting on the ablated object and pushing it gradually from its original trajectory. This thrust method is considered to be an analog of standard rocket propulsion [88]. The material ejected from the ablated surface could then be collected by a spacecraft flying through the ablation plume and, together with the in situ analysis of the plasma plume emission spectra, could help even further with the exploration of the composition, formation, and evolution of the bodies of the Solar System [89].  
For such space technologies, it will be essential to correctly determine the laser parameters in order to find a balance between the technological requirements (e.g., power consumption, size, weight) and the conditions that need to be met for achieving efficient ablation. Our results show that even a high-power laser capable of reaching significant fluence, of the order of tens of thousands of J/cm\({}^{2}\), is capable of ablating only a few cubic millimeters of chondritic meteorite material (SaU 571, see Figure 13) in a single shot. However, the same outcome can be achieved with a much less powerful laser by accumulating a relatively small number of pulses to a single spot, as discussed in the previous section. This result, therefore, indicates that a higher fluence does not necessarily result in more efficient ablation, and on an experimental level, it further supports that high-repetition or CW (continuous-wave) lasers are rightfully the focus of most laser deflection studies (e.g., [64; 65; 69; 90]).  
It is also very crucial to understand the ablation behavior of the material that constitutes potentially dangerous interplanetary matter. Figures 13 and 14 clearly show that there are differences among individual types of meteorites, and that the ablation is nonhomogenous even across one sample. Moreover, due to the fragility of the meteorite samples, which was highlighted in Section 3.4, ablation is not the only process responsible for the material's removal. Spallation, spattering, chipping, and dusting off are of crucial importance and, therefore, they should not be neglected in laser ablation models [68]. Although the different resistances of minerals typical for interplanetary matter are known, there is a lack of studies directly focused on more complex samples, such as meteorites, that would provide information about the overall behavior of interplanetary matter during laser irradiation, and not just its individual components.