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Spelunkingpunk t1_jc1likk wrote

Hmmmm, who could have ever imagined not picking up your toys/garbage makes a litter/clutter problem. Who is in charge? I'd like to have a word with their mom.

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Wagamaga OP t1_jc1j8oa wrote

Scientists have called for a legally-binding treaty to ensure Earth’s orbit isn’t irreparably harmed by the future expansion of the global space industry.

In the week that nearly 200 countries agreed to a treaty to protect the High Seas after a 20-year process, the experts believe society needs to take the lessons learned from one part of our planet to another.

The number of satellites in orbit is expected to increase from 9,000 today to over 60,000 by 2030, with estimates suggesting there are already more than 100 trillion untracked pieces of old satellites circling the planet.

While such technology is used to provide a huge range of social and environmental benefits, there are fears the predicted growth of the industry could make large parts of Earth’s orbit unusable.

Writing in the journal Science, an international collaboration of experts in fields including satellite technology and ocean plastic pollution say this demonstrates the urgent need for global consensus on how best to govern Earth’s orbit.

They acknowledge that a number of industries and countries are starting to focus on satellite sustainability, but say this should be enforced to include any nation with plans to use Earth’s orbit.

Any agreement, they add, should include measures to implement producer and user responsibility for satellites and debris, from the time they launch onwards. Commercial costs should also be considered when looking at ways to incentivise accountability. Such considerations are consistent with current proposals to address ocean plastic pollution as countries begin negotiations for the Global Plastics Treaty.

The experts also believe that unless action is taken immediately, large parts of our planet’s immediate surroundings risk the same fate as the High Seas where insubstantial governance has led to overfishing, habitat destruction, deep-sea mining exploration, and plastic pollution.

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adg8989

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jschall2 t1_jc4i3y9 wrote

Need to make a distinction between satellites that are in low orbits that naturally decay very quickly and those that are not.

Most of those 60,000 satellites will be in the former category.

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its_ean t1_jc1nvl7 wrote

Why is this written like it's a new concern?

Kessler syndrome, 1978 & 2009
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessler_syndrome

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FranksRedWorkAccount t1_jc1oq6n wrote

"who could have seen this coming, says only planet that actively works to cause this."

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QuietGanache t1_jc1zuio wrote

The only planet? Is Saturn a joke to you?

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FranksRedWorkAccount t1_jc21ncg wrote

Psh, how many objects did Saturn put up into its orbit? Catch things sure but lift things up? It's practically a moon in that category.

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druffischnuffi t1_jc30798 wrote

We were already told in school to clean up after us if we fly to space

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its_ean t1_jc3ka88 wrote

for sure. It's obviously in the interest of anyone who wants to, like, send more than one thing to space.

At scale, there are too many who won't pick up after themselves unless required. It could / should have been done earlier. This effort towards functioning, enforced international regulation is sorely needed.

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Croquetas_ t1_jc1osfo wrote

Because it is. Every day that passes is more and more worrying. Aswell is because many scientists is calling now to action again, so yes, it's important

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brickyardjimmy t1_jc227e4 wrote

Some days I wonder if we wouldn't be better off if communications were set back a few decades.

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its8up t1_jc29sqj wrote

Setting it back to before the time of twatter would be nice.

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smurficus103 t1_jc2dlz2 wrote

What makes us human? Bipedal? Thumbs? Brains? I'd argue it's our ability to make funny sounds, create symbolic speech and teach eachother (fire, farming, and how a clit works)

The internet, then, has made us super-human.

I do not wish to lose our superpowers.

Take it easy.

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shiningPate t1_jc2r3ok wrote

They keep calling what hit the Soyuz on the ISS a "micrometeroid", but the highest probability is that it was space junk. Nobody wants to call it that because it would just reinforce the karma aspect of the Russians having performed an ASAT test that generated space junk in the ISS altitudes.

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ForgiLaGeord t1_jc4fxsi wrote

The manufacturing defect-caused leak? The debris impact theory is pretty much debunked now that two leaked in the same way, and the next one is delayed to fix the same defect.

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Pilotom_7 t1_jc27ilk wrote

We’ll probably wait for Some accident/disaster to happen and then act

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BabyNapsDaddyGames t1_jc2ghgd wrote

This brings to mind that episode of Cowboy Bebop with the long forgotten satellite that became sentient and drew some stick figure friends.

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postart777 t1_jc2712r wrote

Roe v Wade reversal, repealing child labor laws, daily toxic spills, and so on: the US is doing just fine on its own "setting modern society back decades"

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Grimm2020 t1_jc1r4cg wrote

"so as it be below, let it be above" would seem to apply here...

not happy about this, BTW

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Silly_Silicon t1_jc3n7le wrote

Leave it to the misguided ingenuity of humans to figure out the technology to expand our trash empire outside our planet.

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RichGrinchlea t1_jc2suiy wrote

Part of my dystopian sci-fi imagery is a host of space junk vacuum bots roaming earth's orbits sucking up pieces to make in and out flights a little more safe, creating temporary open pathways to fly through.

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McNinja_MD t1_jc467bc wrote

But that would cost money!

Let's table this until we have a way to do this for free, or better yet, until someone can make some money off of it.

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NobbysElbow t1_jc46amb wrote

There is actually an anime called Planetes that is about characters clearing up junk in space around the planet.

It could actually end up a reality.

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ShrekJohnson27 t1_jc4l2ij wrote

I also heard that because of the immense speeds these objects are moving, one hit would cause both to shatter into tons and tons of tiny pieces that would expand and fly out hitting more and more things out there. Exponential problem

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TheArcticFox444 t1_jc4mshz wrote

>Researchers say derelict objects left in orbit and other disintegrating space junk may cause a catastrophic collision above our atmosphere.

Ever see the movie GRAVITY? The bigger question was left for a sequel that never happened...

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Perfect_Opposite2113 t1_jc24h1i wrote

Here’s my weird sci fi conspiracy theory that is probably 100% scientificly incorrect. What if the space junk created an amplification of sorts of solar flares causing a mass EMP type event? Time to start up my faraday cage business.

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