More media attention to the prospect that rapidly increasing human activity will drastically alter the space environment. "How could we possibly think that burning trash in our atmosphere 24/7 is going to be fine?"
"According to data from the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, 2023 was a record year for launching satellites, probes, landers and more into space. But scientists worry those plumes of exhaust trailing behind rockets could be scattering harmful pollutants into the pristine upper layers of the atmosphere." (via @PBSNewsHour)
"Here it will be shown that the mass of the conductive particles left behind from worldwide distribution of re-entry satellites is already billions of times greater than the mass of the Van Allen Belts."
🇪🇺 #ESA 📆 2023 Annual #SpaceEnvironment Report : Over 80 % 📈 of constellation #satellites 🛰️ launched in 2022 were inserted into #orbits from which they will decay towards #Earth in less than two years 📉 once they are no longer operational or if they lose propulsion. The increasing number of satellites reentering Earth’s atmosphere is therefore expected to continue in coming years. For older pieces of debris, the only solution is active #SpaceDebrisRemoval. https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/ESA_s_Space_Environment_Report_2023
Astrodynamicist, professor and National Geographic Explorer Moriba Jah joins renowned science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson in a discussion about space environmentalism.
For space fans:
Wanna see satellites and junk orbiting Earth right now, live?
Here is an online tool Moriba Jah developed: https://wayfinder.privateer.com/