Having already done a decent job of it here on Earth, humans are well on their way to polluting the skies just
beyond
our atmosphere. After nearly 70 years of modern rocketry and satellite
projects
, there are
literally millions
of centimeter-and-larger discarded objects orbiting the planet—alongside an estimated 130 million tinier bits of space trash. Cleaning up all that debris is already presenting a challenge for experts and legislatorsReportedly, it’s gotten so bad that pilot projects can’t even get off the ground without being forced to recalibrate their objectives.
According to the
European Space Agency
working alongside Swiss startup
ClearSpace
, project planners will need to alter their proof-of-concept “derelict object” removal mission currently scheduled for 2026. The reason? It appears the
space junk
intended for capture and controlled deorbiting has been hit by
another
piece of space junk. ESA and ClearSpace representatives estimate the most likely cause is a “hypervelocity impact of a small, untracked object” that slammed into their 113kg, two-meter-wide rocket debris target first jettisoned during a 2013 ESA mission. Although the collision appears to have resulted in a “low-energy release of new fragments,” the team’s preliminary assessment indicates a “negligible” increase in collision risks for future missions.
[Related: “
How harpoons, magnets, and ion blasts could help us clean up space junk.
”]
The
ClearSpace-1
mission team is currently continuing as planned as more data is collected on their slightly banged-up target, while a full analysis isn’t expected for at least “several weeks.” Until then, ClearSpace and the ESA are treating the new complication as a fine example of
why
such projects are already so necessary.
“This fragmentation event underlines the relevance of the ClearSpace-1 mission. The most significant threat posed by larger objects of
space debris
is that they fragment into clouds of smaller objects that can each cause significant damage to active satellites,”
ESA reps explained
. “To minimize the number of fragmentation events, we must urgently reduce the creation of new space debris and begin actively mitigating the impact of existing objects.”
As
Universe Today
also notes, fast-tracking these projects is incredibly important in order to avoid what is known as the “Kessler cascade” or “Kessler syndrome.” In these scenarios, the orbital space above Earth becomes so junky that debris collisions are essentially impossible to avoid, thus producing more debris, which begets more collisions, and so forth. Like our other pollution-based problems here on Earth, it’s difficult to estimate a time frame for an exact tipping point—but suffice to say, agencies like the ESA will know it when they see it. Barring additional orbital shenanigans, here’s to hoping projects like ClearSpace-1 will achieve their goals and get much-needed space cleanup underway.
