Space now contains so much junk, its a danger to human life and future exploration. Heres what we should do about it – Toronto Star

Imagine a car on the highway. The driver has collapsed on the wheel, their foot still on the accelerator, while more cars keep joining the same lane.

Thats how we currently decommission small spacecraft we just leave them in orbit.

According to the European Space Agencys last Space Environment Report, we launched over 1,200 satellites in 2020 three times as many as the year before. SpaceX alone plans to add tens of thousands more satellites in the coming years.

But all this comes at a cost.

Right now, more than 8,000 tons of potentially lethal space debris orbits the Earth. A paint flake that gouged out a chip from the window of the International Space Station is a threat to spacecraft, just like the bus-sized zombie satellite Envisat that cannot be commanded to deorbit. All space debris, big or small, travels with a velocity of 7.5 km per second. A gram-sized particle in space has the same momentum as a fist-size rock hitting your windshield on the motorway.

As Earths orbits get crowded, the risk of collisions increases increasing the number of debris particles. This could lead to a phenomenon known as the Kessler Syndrome, where a thick cloud of tiny particles eventually surrounds the Earth, preventing future space flight.

Currently, we care about the economic returns of space exploration, so we flood space with satellites. We care about consumer data, so we launch expensive, carefully built satellites on strategic orbits. But we are not focusing enough on the physical space environment. For example, over recent decades agencies have chosen not to study the science of near-Earth space, preferring to focus on distant galaxies instead even though our society critically depends on it.

Keeping the space highway open

Space physics has a critical role in the sustainable use of space. Conditions in space determine how long satellites remain operational, sometimes even when they return to the atmosphere. In February 2022, Starlink lost 40 satellites due to a phenomenon called Joule heating. Current quantitative understanding of Joule heating is so poor that there is no way to predict when and where it can occur. The same is true for dozens of other potentially critical space weather effects.

We need to start thinking about the physical environment of space such as our orbits as an asset: something we care about, rather than a common-pool resource to be recklessly exploited. Big spacecraft should not be allowed to become zombies; they should be deorbited safely before the end of mission. Small satellites should not simply be left in orbit.

We dont build a new car every time another breaks we send it for servicing. We need such servicing technologies for spacecraft, so they can continue their missions. We also need technologies to clean up the existing debris, and prevent new debris from the increasing numbers of new launches.

Durable spacecraft for sustainable space

Frustrated by the lack of action from space agencies on this issue, I established the Finnish Centre of Excellence in Research of Sustainable Space, which builds and launches CubeSats, or nanosatellites. Our aim is to prevent new space debris. The centre studies near-Earth space physics, and develops innovative deorbiting technologies. The open-source results can be used by anyone wishing to build durable spacecraft. In June, we launched our first CubeSat demonstrating resilient design and deorbiting technology, with the aim of making a lasting impact in sustainable use of space and orbit safety.

As we mark the anniversary this Wednesday of the first moon landing on July 20, 1969, we must remember that missions like this pushed open the door of space to all humanity. We need to make sure this door does not fall shut for future generations. As we continue exploring and commercializing space, we must rethink our current approach and adopt a more sustainable way to use space so that we can improve the well-being of people all over the world.

Minna Palmroth leads the Space Physics Research Group at the University of Helsinki, and is chair of the board at the Technology Academy Finland.

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Space now contains so much junk, its a danger to human life and future exploration. Heres what we should do about it - Toronto Star