Space pollution
Ever since humans started to explore the universe, space pollution has gradually become a serious concern regarding ‘space junk’ — debris floating in the space which is leftover of space research. Accidental collisions between satellites and debris have posed a grave threat to the development of possible space programs. International space stations have been forced to engage in complex maneuvers every year to dodge particles that are descending towards the earth. (Clery, D., 2016). There has been a proposal for various methods that can be used to reduce space pollution. However, these existing solutions have some limitations according to the severity of the polarization. Therefore, several improving methods will also be discussed in this essay.
Debris refers to human-made objects in space that does not serve any useful function. They are remains of materials that are used in space exploration such as satellites and space crafts. The larger number of debris in the space decides that hundreds of thousands of them can act as potential explosives orbiting the earth. In the space, there is an estimate of above 4,000 satellites, some active and others not active. The satellites are at constant risk of collision with an approximate of 500,000 bits of space debris, of ranging sizes- from micro-millimeters to double-decker buses (p1). This results in a high probability of a collision to occur every week, and every ESA satellite, therefore, has to be piloted to keep away from collision once or two times every year. “It’s just normal life now,” says Krag. P3. The potential danger posed by these space debris cannot also be underestimated because they are in constantly high-speed motion and usually their speeds can reach up to 17,500mph according to NASA reports. At their rate, even a small particle can damage havoc and other functioning space objects such as satellite. Spacecrafts that travel in space with a human aboard can also be destroyed with a relatively tiny piece of waste leading to loss of lives and countless loss of money. They are made more dangerous by the fact that it is difficult to see them coming in ones way because they move at a speed that it is two times that of a bullet (Liou, J., & Johnson, N. (2017). When an accident that results from the debris occurs, they are catastrophic. In 2009 a defunct Russian satellite named Kosmos 2251 collided with the solar panel pf an American commercial communication satellite iridium 33, which brought a serious consequence that iridium 33 disintegrated beyond repair (Clery, D., 2016). This accident is deemed as one of the worst collision of orbiting satellite and space debris so far, which has caused a significant economic loss and has deposited more debris in space, deteriorating the space pollution. As reported by Ben Greene- the head of Australia’s Space Environment Research Centre (the hosts of the two-day international space environment scientists’ conference in Canberra)- to AFP, the problem of space junk is worsening day in day out. He also added that an approximate of 3 to 4 satellites are being lost to space junk collision which is close to estimates provided by NASA of losing everything within a span of 5-10 years
One of the most prevalent solutions is to protect spacecraft from disintegrating when colliding with debris by shielding them. Scientists keep developing different kinds of fibre metal laminates, formed by bonding several layers of thin metal with composite materials to make them more tough and efficient (P7). Hence, the satellites and spacecraft can undergo collisions with debris and deposition of more debris in space is reduced (Mulholland, J., & Veillet, C.,2014). Nevertheless, the main limitation of the method is that it is very difficult to deal with bigger debris. Some debris are almost the size of a double cabin bus, which can lead to damaging effects(Anz-Meador et al., 2015). For definite reasons, the amount of shielding required for protection against large objects increases with the size of the object and a consequent increase in the cost of launching the spacecraft or a decrease in its payload mass which is essential for spacecraftP6
Another other method is trying to use a garbage-collecting device attached to spacecraft to decrease the amount of debris left in space after conducting experimentation.In fact, mission-related objects released from spacecraft are the maximum contributors to space pollution (Anz-Meador et al. 2015). The amount of debris produced can be significantly reduced by using tethers and collecting devices. For example, Explosives that are used to propel rockets at upper stages can be designed in such a way that the amount of waste it produces is minimized(Mulholland, J., & Veillet, C., 2014). However, taking measures to reduce the creation of debris will not save spacecrafts from the problem of debris collision, for quite many years (p6). Because a large number of existing debris around the earth still pose a threat, and the pollution cannot be eliminated by using this method.
As a matter of fact, the above two methods are not sufficient to remove all debris located in space. Then a few improving approaches are suggested by scientists to eradicate debris in space completely. The main idea is that a special satellite will be used to grab debris and both of them will be de-orbited and then be burnt completely in space. The main advantage of this method is that it does not produce more debris while trying to remove existing debris. Besides, larger debris can be removed with powerful laser beams (Mulholland, J., & Veillet, C. 2014). The forces that the light can exert on the object are significant enough to trap particles and move them to desired places. For instance, debris can be moved by controlling the beams of light and naturally burn up in the atmosphere.
The issues of excess debris deposits in space has caused severe pollution in the environment of space. It poses an extreme danger to satellites and spacecrafts because the impacts of accidental collisions are catastrophic. So far, the debris materials have consistently continued to pile up, and thus we have to take urgent action. Even though existing methods can be used to reduce pollution to some extent, they still have limitation and cannot eliminate space pollution. Researchers and scientist are working hard to develop new methods to destroy debris without creating a new problem such as debris-grabbing satellite and laser beams, which seem effective and with our relentless efforts, space pollution can be resolved in the future.