WHY CLEARING SPACE JUNK IS IMPORTANT

Left to orbit Earth, space junk can go from being a nuisance to a deadly missile

Kessler syndrome

This theory suggests that if too much space junk orbits Earth, one collision could cause a chain reaction of collisions as more debris hits other pieces.

Falling to Earth

Some space junk can reach Earth, such as pieces of NASA’s falling Skylab in 1979. The more space junk that’s in orbit, the more chance of this happening.

It can hit the ISS

Astronauts on the

ISS constantly have to be on the alert for debris. If any is found, the station is moved, and in extreme cases the astronauts will prepare to evacuate.

High speeds

Even tiny pieces the size of a paint fleck can cause damage to satellites because they travel at such high speeds, so efforts must be taken to limit this small debris.

Deadly orbits

If space debris in certain orbits is allowed to build up, it could render those orbits unusable as the debris would present too significant a risk to new satellites.

Satellite impacts

Leaving larger, dead satellites in orbit risks them colliding with others, such as in 2009 when a defunct Russian satellite collided with a working American one.