New ‘constellations’ above Earth, made from defunct satellites and old rocket parts, have been identified to draw attention to the ever-growing problem of space debris.
The project is called Space Trash Signs and is the result of a collaboration between space sustainability company Privateer, German design agency Moby Digg, visual artist Frank Gräfe and communications agency Serviceplan Innovation. The space junk constellations can be explored in a dedicated space websitein stargazing apps and in a special program shown in planetariums around the world.
The aim of the project is to draw attention to the growing problem of space debris ahead of a meeting of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space in June, which will discuss the measures needed to keep space around to keep the earth in order, according to the authors. said in a statement.
Related: 6 types of objects that can cause a space junk apocalypse
The constellations were compiled from tracking data collected by Privateer from real space debris, but unlike their better-known constellations, they cannot be observed from Earth. In fact, the constellations each existed for only a brief moment as space debris orbited Earth at speeds of more than 17,359 miles per hour.
AI was used to find patterns in Privateer’s data, and the constellations were then timestamped to indicate the moment they were discovered, the project’s spokesperson told Space.com in an email.
Clicking on each node of each constellation reveals information about the debris object that makes up the node, including its size range, name, and expected cost of removal from orbit.
The constellations have been selected to highlight the most devastating consequences of the space debris problem. For example, the Broken Compass, which was spotted over Bermuda in January 2023, highlights the damage that space debris could cause to global positioning and navigation satellites such as the US GPS or European Galileo system if it were to hit them.
Similarly, The Great 404 – captured over West Africa in February 2023 – symbolizes the consequences of the destruction of internet-beaming satellites connecting isolated communities around the world. The Unavailable Forecast, recorded over India in April 2023, is a symbol of the uncertainty the world would face if it lost its meteorological satellites. A total of ten constellations make up the collection.
“There are a number of internationally agreed guidelines for clearing and preventing debris, but none of these mechanisms are enforceable,” Moriba Jah, chief scientist at Privateer, said in the statement. “If we don’t change our behavior, the space will become unusable.”
Currently, more than 160 million pieces of man-made space debris orbit the Earth. These objects range from very old satellites and spent rocket stages to small fragments resulting from collisions between larger objects. Due to the growing number of satellites in orbit, boosted by the advent of small satellites and internet beaming constellations such as SpaceX’s Starlink, the risk of orbital collisions is increasing sharply.
While satellites can maneuver using their thrusters and avoid collisions, the bigger problem is that the positions and trajectories of smaller pieces of debris are unknown, and their impacts often come as a complete surprise.
Experts are concerned that without preventative measures – such as removing larger pieces of debris – space around Earth could become completely unusable. The increasing frequency of collisions could lead to a situation known as Kessler syndrome, which was first predicted by former NASA physicist Donald Kessler in the late 1970s. Kessler syndrome is essentially an unstoppable collision cascade in which fragments from each new collision cause further impacts, creating more fragments and more collisions.