Space junk is a growing issue. From large chunks of rockets to specks of paint, the orbits around Earth are filled with garbage – garbage that moves faster than a bullet and poses a risk to astronauts and other satellites.
The number of satellites is growing massively, year on year. Just five years ago, there were over 2,000 satellites in orbit. Now, thanks to mega-constellations like Starlink, there are 9,000 satellites. By the end of the decade, this number is expected to reach 60,000.
Space has changed and we risk ending up with Kessler Syndrome, where a piece of space junk hits a satellite, producing more space junk hitting other satellites in a cascading event leading to an entire orbit becoming unusable. This scenario is not inevitable, and we spoke with Professor Moriba Jah about how the solution to space junk could come from Indigenous and First Nations knowledge of stewardship. Modern problems might require ancient solutions.
Can you tell us what you mean by calling yourself a space environmentalist?
Professor Moriba Jah: When I talk about space environmentalism, I am really looking at orbital space as a finite resource, because where we put satellites is in very specific locations and these orbital highways can only take so much traffic. When things die, they keep on going at very fast speeds and they don’t return to Earth any time soon – some things never come back. The amount of orbital space is limited and the highways are becoming more and more packed. Space environmentalism is looking at it as an environment in and of itself that is in need of protection.
What are the risks of letting the space junk problem just get worse and worse?
MJ: As I was saying before about the orbital highways becoming more congested with objects, most of them defunct or dead. They are pretty much pollution that’s just orbiting at very high speeds. The problem with that is because these dead objects are taking up physical space, they are also able to collide with satellites that are working, that are providing services and capabilities that we depend upon critically, like position, navigation, timing, communications, Earth observation, you know, we have a war in Ukraine. These robots in the sky that we call satellites are very useful to humans. Humans know more about humanity and the world because of data provided by satellites than by any other means and none of these satellites are protected or shielded against harm. Harm can come from pieces of junk, and the number of junk is growing.
Do you think that the current drive to the increased commercialization of space is making the problem of space junk worse?
MJ: Absolutely. I think that the commercialization of space in and of itself isn’t the problem. It’s only a problem because it’s not approached holistically. One of the things that I firmly believe in is what I call ancient tek: traditional ecological knowledge. These are principles or tenets that come from Indigenous people who believe that all things are interconnected and that the only way for humanity to thrive is by having a successful conversation with the environment through stewardship. Stewardship asks us to be responsible for things whereas ownership tries to exercise rights and that sort of stuff. By and large, humanity has abandoned this intergenerational contract of stewardship and because of that, and not seeing all these things as interconnected, we have a lot of the problems that we have today.
Why is space sustainability not a bigger part of the conversation yet?
MJ: Part of the problem is that we don’t let Mother Nature let us know what the unintended consequences of our actions are. I remember years ago, a busy year for launches was one launch a month. Right now, on average, we are launching more than twelve satellites per week. That’s a lot. That’s very different than before and I can tell you that at this rate, we have no idea what the unintended consequences are of launching so many objects so frequently. When we take our foot off the gas pedal, Mother Nature is very good at providing us feedback and that’s part of the principles of ancient tek. Don’t behave in ways that will basically prevent yourself from being sustainable in the future.
I think that applying the principles of ancient tek would help for space sustainability, but also, I believe in a circular space economy that focuses first and foremost on trying to minimize single-use satellites. Can we make rockets and satellites useable and recyclable, first and foremost? If we can do that, then that minimizes the number of things that we’re launching for sure, and for the things that we can’t make reusable and recyclable, can we then do responsible disposal? Forcing the object to re-enter, burn up in the atmosphere, but designing it with materials such that when it burns up in the atmosphere it’s not polluting the atmosphere itself? I think we can do that. I remember Japan was developing a satellite made out of wood, for instance, which I found to be interesting. These are ideas that I believe we can all implement. Governments can get behind it and that would definitely go a long way in achieving space sustainability.
What do you think governments, international bodies, and space agencies could do to change the current approach we are having about sending stuff into space?
MJ: I was part of a team under the World Economic Forum that started something called the Space Sustainability Rating, which is now being led in its second phase by the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland as a mechanism to get more and more space operators and even governments involved and use that as a basis to drive or incentivize sustainable behavior in space. I think if governments and industry embrace the space sustainability rating then I think the outcome of that will certainly be improved space sustainability. There are governments that I advise, and one of the advice that I give them is you should have, as part of your advisory board or group of people that provide you with advice, Indigenous people or First Nation people to give you their opinion about how to approach the use of space as a finite resource and how to do it successfully because these Indigenous people have been able to achieve that over tens of thousands of years. So, we should listen to them, and it’s back to the ancient tek informing how to use high tech.
This interview was part of IFLScience’s The Big Questions and has been edited for length and clarity. Subscribe to our newsletter so you don’t miss out on the biggest stories each week.
Source Link: An Ancient Solution Could Deal With The Problem Of Space Junk
