Small debris (< 1 cm) in near-Earth space present both a threat to spacecraft and an opportunity to characterize the evolution of human-created near-Earth debris. Small debris impact spacecraft at high speeds (> 1 km/s), potentially damaging spacecraft via erosion of coatings, spalling, interruption of spacecraft or instrument operation, or fine wire cuts. The threat posed by debris increases with each space launch. Small debris are the most numerous and rapidly changing debris population. Characterizing the number and location of small debris is important to identify active collisional cascades of debris.

While small debris present clear threats and opportunities, there is a stark observational gap for these particles. The vast majority of small debris particles cannot be efficiently detected from the ground, nor by current systems in orbit. The Debris and meteoroid ENvironment Sensor (DENTS) instrument is designed to address this gap. DENTS combines three well-established measurement techniques into a cohesive detector. This talk describes the latest DENTS instrument developments, including prototype instrument testing, debris orbit characterizations, and simulated space environment testing.