Scientists Unveil Secret Weapon to Halt Space Debris Catastrophe Threatening Earth’s Future
Space exploration—sure, it’s the ultimate sci-fi dream come true, helping us unravel mysteries about our home planet and the vast cosmos beyond. But here’s a kicker: despite its starry allure, the whole astronautical shebang isn’t exactly Mother Earth’s best friend. Just imagine; a single Falcon 9 launch belches out enough CO2 to equal hundreds of gas-guzzling cars going full throttle for a year. And don’t get me started on the cosmic clutter—space debris that’s swirling around like heavenly junkyard traffic, threatening to turn our Low Earth Orbit into an orbiting demolition derby, aka the infamous Kessler syndrome. So, what if I told you there’s a shiny silver lining—reusable rockets—that might just flip this dilemma on its head? Yes, those futuristic rockets that land back on Earth like boomerangs could be the ticket to cleaner, safer space travel. Fancy a peek into this game-changing tech propelling us to a greener cosmic future?
Space exploration is undoubtedly an incredibly important mission for understanding more about the planet we live on and the world beyond.
But the one thing that astronautical endeavours are not, is environmentally friendly.
For one, rocket launches require a lot of fuel, leaving behind huge carbon footprints. For example, one Falcon 9 launch can emit hundreds of tons of CO2, the yearly equivalent of hundreds of cars combined.
Not to mention the fact that space travel also causes debri that float around in orbit, posing potential long term risks for the sustainability of space access, otherwise known as the Kessler syndrome.
But while both issues are both extremely important and seemingly completely at odds with one another, there might just be a magical solution in the form of reusable rockets.
Reusable rockets could be the future of space exploration. (ArianeGroup)
Since June of this year, a team from French aerospace company ArianeGroup have been working towards integrating a prototype of the world’s first reusable rocket at Sweden’s Esrange Space Center.
The current ‘combined tests’ taking place will lead to the rocket undergoing its first low-altitude flight test including a lift off and landing, the company has confirmed. Known as a ‘hop test’, the tests will be carried out as part of the European Union SALTO programme.
Although these rockets will, of course, still require large volumes of fuel and ultimately carry a large carbon footprint, they could go some way to reducing the Kessler syndrome threat.
What is the Kessler syndrome?
Kessler syndrome is a huge threat to humanity (Getty Stock Images)
NASA scientists Donald Kessler and Burton Cour-Palais were conducting research in the 1970s to determine how humanity on Earth would be impacted in the future by the increasingly crowded space around our planet.
Although space is so ginormous we can’t even comprehend, the immediate space around Earth, known as the area of Low Earth Orbit (LEO), is cluttered with debri from our space exploration.
The concept of the Kessler syndrome is that the area around Earth gets too crowded to a point where we reach a saturation point where collisions begin and cannot be stopped.
“Spent rockets, satellites and other space trash have accumulated in orbit increasing the likelihood of collision with other debris,” NASA has explained.
This could eventually create a ‘runaway chain reaction of collisions’, the space agency added. And because of the fast moving debris then circling the planet, it would be almost impossible to launch new satellites to replace the broken ones.
With that in mind, the introduction of possible reusable rockets could be an absolute game changer for the future of space exploration and the safety of those living on Earth.
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