Space junk is becoming a serious threat to the International Space Station (ISS) and satellites floating around Earth. A report from CNN says that these dangerous pieces of debris are getting closer to hitting the ISS, especially after a scary near miss last November. During that incident, the junk came within 2.5 miles (about 4 kilometers) of the ISS, forcing seven astronauts to take shelter while a Russian spaceship adjusted its route to avoid a collision. If they had hit, it could have caused major problems, like letting air out of the station and forcing the astronauts to escape.
Since 1957, over 650 events—like explosions, crashes, and tests—have created space debris. One big crash in 2009 between a destroyed Russian satellite and a working US satellite made thousands of small pieces of debris. Even tiny bits of junk can be dangerous because everything moves super fast in space.
Dr. Vishnu Reddy, a professor at the University of Arizona, explained that we are launching a lot more objects into space lately. “We are heading toward a situation that we are worried about,” he said. This situation is called Kessler Syndrome. It’s a scary concept where one crash causes more crashes, creating even more junk, until space becomes too messy to use safely.
The area where this is the worst is low-Earth orbit, where the ISS, many satellites, and a lot of junk reside. While lower pieces of debris eventually fall down because of drag from the atmosphere, debris higher up can stay up for hundreds or even thousands of years, risking important satellites.
Tracking larger pieces of debris is doable, but millions of smaller pieces are almost impossible to see. Predicting crashes is tricky since even small changes in space weather can shift their paths.
To fight this problem, some scientists and engineers are working on solutions. One idea from the European Space Agency is called the Drag Augmentation Deorbiting Subsystem (ADEO), which helps pull debris down so it can burn up in the atmosphere. While these ideas are promising, they are still in testing phases and can be expensive.
The United Nations is talking about how to manage space traffic and debris, but putting rules into action is difficult. Countries and companies will need to work together, and many people think the United States should help lead the way in creating global rules for space.
Dr. Nilton Renno from the University of Michigan compares our space problem to pollution on Earth. Just like we once thought oceans were unlimited but learned they have limits, the same is true for space.
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