This week, the US government issued its first… Company fined for leaving space junk in spaceWhy is space debris a problem? Space is a pretty big place. The problem is that even a small piece of space junk left behind can cause massive damage if it collides with a spacecraft or other piece of junk.
Humans have been launching rockets and satellites for 70 years, which is a long time for space junk to accumulate.
What is space debris?
Space junk It's everything that humans have left behind in space. This includes satellites that no longer work, booster rockets, and small pieces of debris that have fallen from rockets.
Debris in lower orbits typically returns naturally to Earth within a few years and burns up in the atmosphere. However, there are some reports of space debris reaching the surfaceThe more often this happens, the more likely it is to cause harm to humans on land.
Debris in higher orbits is a bigger problem, as it takes centuries to reach Earth's atmosphere. This poses a risk not only to future space exploration, but also increases the risk of collisions as more debris accumulates.
When space debris collides, even more debris is created.
There is also the risk of explosions in orbit due to excess fuel and batteries.
Clean up space: STEM challenge
I have created a STEM challenge to encourage children to think about the problem of space debris and how it can be solved. The activity includes three pages to guide children in designing, prototyping, and thinking about the potential problems that cleaning up space junk can present. device before presenting a final version of their creation.
Possible methods for cleaning up space junk
- Launching space debris removal vehicles with huge nets, bags, harpoons or giant magnets to catch space junk and bring it back to Earth or lower it into a low enough orbit to burn up.
- Slow down satellites so that they naturally fall into a lower orbit.
- A tracking system for tracking objects of a given size.
Remember, space junk travels very fast.
What is the Kessler effect?
He Kessler effect This is a scenario where the number of objects in low Earth orbit reaches a level where a chain reaction of collisions occurs, creating more debris and more collisions. This will eventually create so much debris that it will be very difficult to safely launch rockets and satellites in the future.
If we think about all the ways we depend on satellites for our daily lives, this would be catastrophic for the modern world.
The Kessler effect was first proposed in 1978 by a NASA scientist. Donald J. Kessler.
Know more
Read about the History of rocketsDid you know that the first rocket experiments were carried out 2,000 years ago?
Humans have left much to be desired. garbage on the moon!
Read about the UK Clearspace Initiative and the RemoveDebris Project.
Don't forget to check out my complete collection of space science experimentsYou'll be able to build and launch rockets, learn about Newton's laws of motion, and much more.
Source Articles
ESA – The current state of space debris
Last updated on October 6, 2023 by Emma Vanstone
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