Cleaning up space
Just like on Earth, we need to tidy up in space. Here is how scientists are trying to do it.
Fall and burn
Low satellites, like Swift, slowly fall. They burn up in the air, like a shooting star.
Move away
High satellites use their last fuel to move to a faraway “graveyard” path.
Catch it
Scientists are testing nets, hooks and robot arms to grab old junk.
Use magnets
Some new satellites have a metal plate, so a cleaner can grab them with a magnet.
India’s promise
ISRO, India’s space agency, has promised that by 2030, its space missions will not leave junk behind in space.
Recycling on the Moon!
This month, a team of students in America won a NASA contest. They found a way to turn old packets and wrappers into strong new material. One day, astronauts living on the Moon could use it to make things they need.
Did you know?When a piece of space junk burns up, it can look like a shooting star. Most of it burns up long before it reaches the ground.
Your mission: design a space junk catcher!
Draw a machine that could catch space junk. What would it use: a net, a magnet, a giant vacuum cleaner, or something new? Give it a name!
My junk catcher is called: ______________________
Think about it: Why is it better not to make junk in the first place, in space and at home?
For grown-ups: Figures: about 40,000 tracked objects of 10 cm or more and over a million between 1 and 10 cm (European Space Agency estimates); low-orbit speeds near 7.8 km/s. ISRO’s goal is called Debris Free Space Missions (DFSM) by 2030. The student prize was in NASA’s LunaRecycle Challenge.