As humans explore beyond our planet, space junk around Earth becomes a growing concern. What is space junk? It refers to the debris left by humans in space, including discarded rocket and satellite components, along with broken parts from spacecraft.
This debris may seem harmless, but it poses a severe threat to operational spacecraft. Even small pieces of space junk can move at high speeds and cause damage when they collide with other objects. Such collisions create more debris which can cause even more damage, leading to a dangerous chain reaction.
In fact, experts estimate that there are millions of pieces of space junk around Earth’s orbit, and the number is growing every year. NASA tracks the larger fragments to avoid collisions, but the smaller debris is hard to spot and track.
This space junk not only poses a threat to spacecraft but also to life on Earth. If a satellite carrying sensitive information is destroyed by space debris, it can lead to catastrophic failure by disrupting communication and navigation systems. The falling debris may also cause harm to people on the ground.
Therefore, it is crucial to address space debris and reduce it for the safety of our technology, infrastructure, and human lives. Solutions such as designing spacecraft to be less prone to debris impact and cleaning up space debris are currently being researched and implemented. We must take action to address the issue of space junk around Earth before it becomes too late.