Space junk, or space debris, refers to the trash from machinery that has been left in space. This space debris is a result of humans throwing objects into orbit, which will remain there until it re-enters the atmosphere. Some space junk at higher altitudes will continue to orbit the earth for hundreds and possibly thousands of years. Although there are many small rocks and naturally occurring materials floating around in space, man-made space junk is a more serious problem because of the small size and material composition. For instance, some paint flecks traveling at high orbital velocities have destroyed space shuttle windows. This debris is so small that it cannot even be tracked effectively.
This space junk poses a threat to our ability to travel to space. Numerous satellites have been heavily damaged by collisions with space. However, space junk is just another form of pollution, meaning that there are solutions to the problem. One of these solutions was posed by the United Nations, who asked that all companies must remove satellites from the orbit after 25 years of a mission. Some solutions to cleaning up space debris are to use a magnet or a laser. Others have advocated for using a giant net to grab the satellites. Unfortunately, all of these solutions require great advancements in technology. Additionally, there is no way to remove all the small particles moving at high speeds. Space junk is an illustration of another pollution issue. If this problem is not solved quickly, it may become very hazardous to send anything into space.
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