[June Theme Report] Space Environment and Pollutionby Shreya Kaushik | 11-07-2023 01:15 |
|---|
 SPACE ENVIRONMENT AND HUMANSEver since humanity discovered satellites and started launching them into space, satellites have proved to be a boon for us. Today from communication to transportation to research and tracking systems, satellites have helped humanity to progress in terms of technological advancement by providing data for research, has helped us to reach the unreachable area and scale, explore, and invent more. But, an excessive amount of anything is dangerous in the same way, an excessive amount of launches of satellites are also becoming dangerous for our mother Earth and upcoming future generations. Since the 1950s, about 11,460 satellites have been launched into the earth¡¯s orbit from which approximately only 3,372 satellites are currently active, which means the rest are inactive and unusable and are floating as junk in space. Research shows that about 128 million debris ( > 1 mm), 34,000 debris ( > 10 cm ), 900,000 ( > 1 cm to 10 cm), and 8700 objects ( > 10 - 30 cm) in the Low Earth Orbits are floating in space currently. But, you must be wondering, as the term suggests space? Doesn¡¯t space have space for this immense satellite debris? The answer is yes if we do not over-exploit it and sadly this is not the case, and the more we humans get, we continue to exploit our objects and means. In 2022, it was estimated that we nearly launched about 2000 satellites into space, and with upcoming launching plans by the billion dollars companies such as SpaceX, Amazon¡¯s Project Kuiper, One Web Corporation, and China¡¯s project, the pollution of satellites are going to grow higher than ever expected. If the 11,460 satellites and these data do not seem that big in front of space, let me explain further with real examples. When large satellites are left unused like junk in space. They travel with a speed of about 28,000 km/h during which they collide with other space satellites or debris, breaking into several millions of small pieces which then float in the orbits of the earth and space for about thousands of years. It¡¯s just like the plastic pollution in the ocean, the more UV radiation, it gets exposed, the more plastics are converted into microplastic which stays in the ocean for thousands of years. Additionally, the major threat from these space debris also lies in our current active satellites in space which might get hit by these debris while orbiting around the Earth. In fact, this phenomenon has already happened, the International Space Station has been hit by several tiny space debris and making the crew spend several weeks in its repairing work. Furthermore, as the amount of space junk continues to grow in the amount, they can form chain reactions, making the collide between satellites and debris happen more frequently. This can be also explained much better by The Kessler Synonydrome which means an excessive amount of space debris in the Low Earth Orbit colliding frequently and paving the path to further collisions eventually leading to catastrophic conditions in space. It is also estimated that if it is stopped in recent years, there might be a time when we might not have the space to launch satellites for further exploration. But the catch is that not just our launched satellites into space are causing the problem. The causes also lie in the existing satellites which slowly become inactive due to their low energy levels, damage from the debris, several pieces of equipment lost by the astronauts in space while traveling, and destruction of the satellites by the anti-satellite weapon testing by US and Russia. In addition to that, the satellites we launch around the earth¡¯s orbit get separated in stages from which some get burnt once it enters into the earth¡¯s atmosphere whereas others keep floating in space. The problem seems to be very complex but we haven¡¯t given yet. Several named organizations such as Atsroscale, SpaceGuardians, Cleanspace, Leolabs, etc are combating this issue using technology and innovation. One of the potential solutions which are currently being used by companies and organizations for space debris removal is deorbiting the space junk using spider nets and launching cleaning satellite that captures the debris around them and stores it within them to travel back to Earth orbits where they are eventually burnt after the release. Another idea that came up in my mind while researching was how about we add small space waste removal systems to the satellites we launch. This can also help us to reduce the cost we spend on launching the satellites as major ways of hindering our path are the expensive cost and lack of funds for the space removal technology. Resources used: [1]https://academic.oup.com/jrssig/article/18/3/18/7038543 [2]https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/what-is-space-junk-and-why-is-it-a-problem.html#:~:text=Space%20junk%2C%20or%20space%20debris,have%20fallen%20off%20a%20rocket. [3]https://www.freethink.com/space/space-debris-15000mph#:~:text=The%20ISS%20(International%20Space%20Station,repair%20the%20ship%20for%20weeks. [4]https://www.iberdrola.com/sustainability/space-debris [5]https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0094576509000320 [6]https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/news/orbital_debris.html |
