Environmental protections of space should be put in place to account for the increasing number of satellite launches. As more satellites are launched, the problem of space debris gets worse and worse, and scientists warn this could have long-term consequences for both scientific research and the well-being of people on the ground.
The increasing number of satellite launches is creating an unsustainable impact on the space environment according to a report by the European Space Agency. There are more than 30,000 pieces of space debris that have been recorded around our planet, and according to models, there could be more than one million objects larger than 1 centimeter in size.
A group of researchers warned in a paper in the journal Nature Astronomy that junk in the sky will impact a wide range of fields. As well as interfering with astronomy research, the increasing amount of junk will interfere with what they call public access to the stars. The night sky is an important part of the culture of many groups of Indigenous people, and this applies to both amateur and professional astronomer.
The issue of space debris will get worse if serious actions are not taken soon. When two satellites collide, they create thousands of pieces of debris which are smeared across their orbits, and this debris can create more crashes. There is a danger that we could be affected by Kessler syndrome, in which there is so much junk in the sky, that it would be difficult or impossible to launch any further space missions.
The researchers argue that we should look at space through the same lens as we look at Earth, and take action to protect it.
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