Space is Full of Junk. Here’s How to Clean It Up…

↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓

We know pollution is a problem on earth, but we’re filling space with our junk too. And if we don’t figure out a way to clean up space junk, we could end our interstellar dreams before they even get started. Today, we’re visiting some cool engineers in Switzerland to learn about the space junk problem and the giant space claw that might be the perfect solution.

Filmed at ClearSpace - Lausanne, Canton Vaud, Switzerland

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[pfrydog]

I think the biggest threat is the smaller blueberry size pieces that they won't see coming.

[HMAOO]

-Oh...I have to use miles, right?
-No, we are scientist. We use metric

2 seconds later
-A piece of blueberry size....

[fireaza]

For anyone interested in this topic, there's a hard sci-fi TV series from the 2000s called _Planetes_ that's about a future where cleaning up space debris has become necessary due to increased space travel. Of course, in that series, the clean up is largely done by hand, in order for human drama to happen, but it's otherwise technically-accurate and was produced in collaboration with space agencies.

[drabberfrog]

4:24 satellites in higher orbits stay up there longer not because gravity is that much weaker, it's because of the huge reduction in air resistance.

[lordgarion]

The giant stuff isn't the biggest problem. It's the little stuff.

We need to grab the big before it gets smashed, but there's already a ton of little things that need dealing with as well.

[YoungGandalf]

I now have a new phobia of a claw on a long tether coming down from the sky, grabbing me, and pulling me up into space.

[draddogz]

The mortal fear that Muriel Richard had on their face when they remembered you were American and had to convert to imperial 😂

[noahosborne]

I feel like this is of those things that's get talked about alot, but nothing is done.

[fftt]

I don’t like the idea of a one-time use space junk collector. I would think it would be expensive and wasteful. Keeping that claw design for larger debris is good but if the satellite had some propulsion to both push the debris down to earth and redirect the satellite to another piece of debris. Then with its last remaining propusion, use that to push itself to earth. This might save resources and money.

[elly.b]

5:27 don't worry we're talking science language here, we use the metric. Love it 😂

[Megagalaktikarea]

Okay they grab it... And then what? Grab more? De-orbit? Throw it to earth. I... Feel like this video missed the information on that part.

[LightworkBeacon]

I am so thankful we have folks who are thinking about this.

[joannecarr]

I really love that the demonstration claw, clearly seen around 9:40 - 9:45 was built from Lego. 🤣🤣

[MLeoDaalder]

If you want to read/see some fiction around this topic, the manga/anime Planetes is a good example of this subject and other space habitation topics as well.

[theGoogol]

Ah, the Kessler Syndrome.
This deserves a lot of attention.

[MarkBlance]

Individual launches for each piece of junk seems very inefficient. There was something about using lasers to heat up a piece of debris causing it to "thrust" itself into our atmosphere. I wonder what happened to that.

[florian]

4:25 made it sound like gravity strength and not atmospheric drag was causing decay. Sorry to nitpick, great video as always. Love you Joe. Thank you for making such amazing content

[tangster]

I wrote a paper on this problem last year and I mentioned a unique way to remove junk without the issue of making contact with the dead satellite. Hanspeter Schaub and his team have been developing a craft that uses electrostatic attraction to slowly drag the satellites out of the way. It’s like a rudimentary tractor beam. Idk if it’ll work but I thought it was a cool idea.

[alden]

I feel like small, articulated, solar-powered ion-thrusters that could attach themselves to a piece of debris, gradually halt any rotation by thrusting opposite the direction of rotation, then thrust in the opposite direction of travel to gradually bleed of inertia, would be a great way to do this. You could launch many on a single mission, use the ion-thrusters to navigate to the object, then attach themselves via any of a number possible means (magnetic, self-curing epoxy, straps, etc.) You'd basically be turning any selected object into a solar-powered spacecraft with tiny-but-sustained thrust.
The other idea I had would be essentially a semi-rigid "space parachute, " tuned to create drag by either reflecting sunlight or to scoop up occasional air molecule present at those altitudes (or both). The air option would also gradually accumulate air molecules inside the "scoop" of the parachute, too, increasing the mass of the object (by a miniscule amount, but still).

[scottbruner]

9:41 can we all just appreciate the wonderful use of LEGOS as a space engineering tool…..