At first, researchers have noted that Planet Earth might get its own rings like Saturn. As for a planet like ours that is already struggling with pollution on land and water, it is highly possible that in coming years Earth’s orbit can become a junkyard too.
According to a researcher, Jake Abbott of the University of Utah“Earth is on course to have its own rings and They’ll just be made of space junk.”
Just like our neighbouring planets such as Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus, Earth might also get a ring in its orbit with the only difference that the above-mentioned planets adorn rings made up of ice and rock that have been locked in the planet’s orbit but Earth will get rings of wholly man-made space discharged such as satellites, rockets, and other space waste.
The Department of Defence and NASA has Orbital Debris Programs which keeps detailed records of objects that circle Earth. There is currently an estimated 23,000 pieces of orbital debris, NASA’s term for Earth’s highway of space trash, that are larger than a softball, and up to hundreds of millions of more bits at smaller sizes. At speeds of 17,500 mph, those larger chunks pose a serious threat to aerospace travel and research.
Researching the same at the University of Utah, Abbott has cautioned that more interference in space can create more debris.
Abbott claims that “Most of that junk is spinning and Reaching out to stop it with a robotic arm, can break the arm and create more debris.”
Annually, between 200 to 400 pieces of space junk fallbacks to earth and get burned up in the atmosphere. It must also be noted that the race for commercial space is speeding and most of the businessmen want to acquire their territory in the space too.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk, as well as Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, have each announced plans to launch tens of thousands of new satellites in the coming years.
Previously, Russia’s space agency shot down one of its inert satellites without warning, exploding a nearly 2.5-ton satellite into bits and sending the crew on the International Space Station in a panic over the potential impact from its blast.
“We’ve basically created the world’s first tractor beam and It’s just a question of engineering now. Building and launching it,” Abbott added. (Jagran)
