Nowadays we have a lot of environmental problems related to contamination by humans on

earth and in the ocean, but what about if we look up to the stars? At first we wouldn't see
anything but let me tell you that there is around 170 million of debris floating around in our
orbit, but why is this? Is it dangerous? Is there any way to solve this? So let's talk about it.

The reason behind the large amount of space debris is because Since space exploration
began, more than 15,000 satellites have been launched. Now rocket launches take place
more than three times per week, many deploying multiple satellites. And every new launch
has the potential to generate more junk. In the year 2000, there were around 8,000
trackable pieces of debris in space. By 2019, there were roughly 20,000. Now, just four
years later, there are nearly 30,000 pieces of junk larger than a softball floating in space.

It is very dangerous because of the high speeds at which objects move in Earth’s orbit,
even little pieces of space debris can cause damage. Windows on the space shuttle often
had to be replaced because of damage from collisions with debris smaller than a
millimeter.Even satellites have been destroyed by space debris. In 2009 the defunct
Russian Cosmos 2251 military communications satellite collided with the functioning
Motorola Iridium 33, destroying both satellites. In 2013 a Russian laser-ranging satellite,
BLITZ, had to abandon its mission because of an unexpected change in its orbit, which
meant that it could crash against other satellites creating more debris.

So what can we do to stop this? some ideas are the Orbit changes: many modern
satellites are launched into elliptical orbits with perigees within the Earth's atmosphere,
which causes them to break up eventually.Self-destruction: consists of programming the
satellite to leave its orbit at the end of its useful life and be eliminated when it comes into
contact with the atmosphere.Passivation: is the removal of any internal energy contained in
the vehicle at the end of its useful life. Although the chassis remains in orbit, there is less
risk of explosions. The same applies to the rocket stages.Reuse: these rockets return to
Earth intact. These are used by SpaceX, the aerospace company owned by Elon
Musk.Laser: consisting of stopping the fragments by vaporizing their surface with a
powerful laser, which stops them and causes them to fall.

In conclusion, space debris is probably a big problem to solve if we want to progress a

society but I think that with the advanced technology we can overcome the situation and
begin to create an eco-friendly environment not only on the earth but also in space!