It is amazing to think about the fact that prior to 1949, nothing human made had ever entered space. Since then, thousands of shuttles, satellites, probes, and other things have been sent up.

The problem, however, is that many of these objects have never come down.

There are over 13,000 satellites orbiting the Earth with more being sent up every day. Now, space (even just the space that is very close to Earth) is incredibly big. While 13,000 objects sounds like a lot, there is plenty of room for them all. Think of it this way, if someone told you that there were 13,000 cars driving around on the surface of Earth, would you be worried about it?

Of course not. That being said, the number is growing very quickly. In the past, launching something into space once a month was considered a lot. Today, there are over a dozen satellites put into orbit each week.

In addition, other than the injuries and loss of life, when two cars crash, it makes a small mess that is easy to clean up. If two satellites crash into each other, they will rupture into hundreds or thousands of small pieces. These pieces will then travel around the Earth at incredible speeds and may then crash into other satellites.

You can see how this would be a problem.

It is such a big concern, scientists have been worried about it since at least the 1970’s when American astrophysicist Don Kessler introduced the subject. Today, the issue is known as Kessler Syndrome, and is being taken very seriously by many.

Fortunately, modern satellites are doing somewhat better than older ones. For example, they are often designed with their end of life in mind. In most cases, this means that they have the ability to deorbit themselves (on command) in a way that they burn up in the atmosphere. This removes them from the growing amount of space junk while also ensuring people living on the ground are safe.

Of course, sending large pieces of metal through the atmosphere is always going to come with some level of risk. This is why some people are pushing for the use of more easily destructible materials to be used in space. Space agencies are also working on programs to hopefully remove some of the thousands of satellites that are out of commission, but continue to orbit the planet.

While this problem does not have a simple solution, it is an important one that needs to be solved before a catastrophe occurs. If the area around Earth becomes congested with space junk, it would be impossible to safely put new satellites into space. The modern world relies heavily on these satellites for communication, GPS, research, and much more.

Hopefully experts can come up with an effective solution.

If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about a second giant hole has opened up on the sun’s surface. Here’s what it means.