Space is becoming a crowded and polluted place. Humans have left a lot of trash on the Moon and in Earth’s orbit, creating hazards and challenges for future space activities. But who is responsible for cleaning up the space debris, and how can we do it?
The Moon is the closest celestial body to Earth, and humans have been exploring it since the 1960s. However, not everything we sent to the Moon came back. According to Ars Technica, there are nearly 100 bags of human waste on the surface of the Moon, left by Apollo astronauts. These bags contain urine, feces, vomit, and other biological materials that could pose a contamination risk for future lunar missions.
The Moon is not the only place where humans have left their mark. Near-Earth orbit, the region of space within 2,000 kilometers of Earth’s surface, is home to thousands of satellites that provide vital services such as communication, navigation, weather monitoring, and Earth observation. However, not all of these satellites are still working. According to the World Economic Forum, there are about 6,000 satellites orbiting Earth, of which only 40% are operational. The rest are either defunct or abandoned, and some have broken up into smaller pieces due to collisions or explosions.
Space debris is not only a waste of resources, but also a threat to the safety and sustainability of space activities. As Moriba Jah, a space expert from the University of Texas at Austin, said: “The problem is that there is no one in charge. There is no global authority that can enforce rules or standards for space activities.” This means that there is no clear accountability or liability for the damage caused by space debris, and no incentive for satellite operators to minimize their impact on the space environment.
However, some initiatives are trying to address this issue. The UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) is the main international forum for discussing space governance issues, but it has no binding authority. It has developed some voluntary guidelines for the long-term sustainability of outer space activities, but they have not been widely adopted or implemented by countries or companies.
The World Economic Forum has launched a Space Sustainability Rating (SSR) initiative, which aims to incentivize responsible behavior in space by rating the sustainability of satellite operators. The SSR will assess factors such as the design, operation, and end-of-life disposal of satellites, and provide a transparent and independent score that can be used by regulators, insurers, investors, and customers. Niklas Hedman, from the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs, said: “Space sustainability is not only about environmental stewardship, it is also about safeguarding the business case for future space activities.”
Another approach is to develop new technologies and methods to remove existing space debris from orbit. The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced a mission called ClearSpace-1, which will attempt to remove a piece of space debris from orbit in 2025. The mission will use a robotic arm to capture a defunct rocket part and drag it into Earth’s atmosphere, where it will burn up. Jan Wörner, ESA Director General, said: “We need to develop new technologies and new methods to avoid collisions, deorbit defunct satellites and remove debris.”
Space is a global commons that belongs to everyone and no one. It is also a finite resource that is becoming increasingly scarce and polluted. As Perry World House, a think tank at the University of Pennsylvania, said: “Space is a global commons that belongs to everyone and no one. It is also a finite resource that is becoming increasingly scarce and polluted.” The lack of an effective governance regime for outer space activities poses significant risks for international security and stability. Therefore, it is imperative that we find ways to clean up the mess we made in space before it is too late.
Relevant articles:
– Space junk is on the rise, and no one is in charge of cleaning it up, Ars Technica, August 31, 2023
– World Space Week 2022: How to make space travel sustainable, World Economic Forum, October 27, 2023
– Key Governance Issues in Space, Aerospace Security, September 1, 2020
– Space debris – A normative approach to space governance, Perry World House, October 2023.