Space Debris is a very crucial problem that needs to be addressed Globally says researchers who want to implement a Treaty into action to ensure necessary measures are taken to address the problem and make sure space debris does not cause any problems in the future.
The week that nearly 200 countries from around the world signed a treaty to protect the High Seas which is a treaty to ensure the protection and conservation of the Marine Biological Ecosystem after a long 20-year wait, experts from around the world said that we need to learn from our mistakes that we made in one part of the planet to the other i.e The Orbits around the Earth in Space.
The Global Satellite Industry is an accelerating domain, nearly 9000 Satellites orbit the Earth providing a broad range of services. That number is expected to grow to 60,000 by 2030 and when you add the 100 Trillion pieces of Satellite debris revolving around the Earth it becomes a severe and irreparable problem to tackle in the future hence experts say immediate intervention is required. If the problem remains unsolved it would make a major part of orbits around the Earth unusable.
Impacts of Space Debris
The impact of enormous amounts of space debris falls on not only unusable orbits but also the impact it has on the concentration of plastic in the Earth’s oceans. When Satellites fall off the Orbit and head to the Earth, most debris falls into the ocean and contaminates the Marine Biological Ecosystems increasing the concentration of plastics and other contaminating material harmful to the ecosystems and causing another situation Like the High seas if any plans and interventions are not made to address the problem.
Experts writing in The Journal Science, a collaboration between experts from different fields like Satellite Technology and Ocean Plastic Pollution come together and say that an immediate agreement must be made on how to govern Space.
They say that many countries are trying to focus on satellite sustainability but the countries that plan to enter the Satellite Industry should also enforce the proper way to govern space. Any agreement made to ensure safe and sustainable governance of space should also include accountability of producers and users who use satellites and the resulting debris if any from the time of launch. Commercial costs should also be taken into account when you induce accountability. All these reforms are consistent with the proposals put forward that address the plastic pollution in the ocean made by different countries to the Global Plastics Treaty.
Our planet’s surroundings will be at risk if no action is taken to prevent it and suffer the same consequences as the High Seas where poor governance has led to overfishing, habitat damage, and plastic pollution harming the Marine Biological Ecosystems.
The article written by the experts that urges us all to a global intervention regarding hazardous space debris was co-authored by the University of Plymouth, Arribada Initiative, The University of Texas at Austin, NASA’s prominent institution The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and many more.
One of the scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory named Dr. Kimberly Miner summed up and said that mirroring the new UN Ocean initiative to that of the problems regarding Space Debris to reduce the satellite pollution around Earth’s orbit will allow for continued space exploration and Satellite continuity, and the growth and progress of life-changing Space Technology.
Head of the International Marine Litter Research Unit, Professor Richard Thompson OBE summed up and said that a lot can be learned from our past mistakes regarding pollution in the ocean that is relevant to the growing number of Space Debris.
