How to Clean Up After Ourselves in Space

We've launched thousands of spacecraft over the years. And as the space junk around our planet builds up, researchers are working on ways to clean things up using some obvious things, like lasers, and some less obvious ones, like solar sails.

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[mho...]

The Series "Planetes" does a very nice job at depicting space cleanup crews & their struggles ☺

[vonneely]

I'm envisioning an Onion news article where an alien invasion is destroyed by our barrier of space junk before it can even land.

[GoingtoHecq]

as for the millimeter sized stuff, could we send up like large blocks of gel to absorb some of those pieces? Those bullet sized pieces sound like a huge risk as well. Sounds like we need dedicated trash collection missions.

[conorgreen]

The sail/parachutes make sense when you think about it. A brake and an accelerator are the same as far as Newton is concerned

[StaticR]

I find it really funny how after centuries of technological progress we're going back to sails.

time really is a circle

[jackielinde]

"Smothering Junk" Just found the name of my next Punk Band. :D

[WilliamDye-willdye]

Drag sails are interesting, but 1) it may be sufficient to only roll out a long conductive string instead of a sheet. 2) it still requires an active action by a functioning satellite, which means we'll still need to develop options for handling failures. Since we have to spend money anyway to develop the fallback options, it may not be worthwhile to spend additional money to develop drag sails. Active options need passive options as a fallback, but passive options only need active ones if the active options are dramatically cheaper.

[peanutbutterthedog]

If there is a passive sail to bring down a satellite, how do you control where it lands on earth? If it burns up in the atmosphere, does that effect the atmosphere in any way?

[robertt]

I am a fan of the laser approach. It can be used to push the existing space junk down including the micro ones.

[hiiamelecktro]

So we use sails… like parachutes

GENIUS

[ATLAS_JET]

The video i have indeed been waiting for

[samwill]

I did not think I would ever recognize a concept in a SciShow video...from Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones.

[MaryAnnNytowl]

About time we get on this issue, before we trap ourselves down here for the foreseeable future.

[NicholasJeffery]

Humanity: "Pollute first, figure it out later."

[Rocket]

Lol so kinda like a drag racing parachute? Neat

[armstrong.r]

Something I've always wondered is how debris that burns up affects the atmosphere.

[salt-emoji]

Combine the space station and laser idea! Use lasers to alter the trajectory of the desired object, then decrease it's velocity as it approaches a large net to catch debris, sort materials, send them back or to other production stations in space/on the moon

[God-ldll]

the black bin. What do you think i made that for?

[GRYSRGNCS]

This needs to be titled "How Governments and Private Corporations Can Clean up After Themselves in Space" because WE aren't making a mess in space. THEY are. And THEY are the only ones capable of cleaning up THEIR mess.

[travishunter]

My solution has always been a large aerogel cylinder that is as large in volume as can fit in fairings and you fly it in an intersecting or in of clouds of debris then just let the stuff hit into it and let the pieces stick inside. Eventually you de orbit the whole thing. If it worked for astroid dust collecting it should work for debris