Space industrialization

Autor: Liping Liu, Puqi Jia, Yalin Huang, Jie Han, Eric Lichtfouse
Přispěvatelé: Lanzhou University, Fujian Normal University [Fujian], Xi'an Jiaotong University (Xjtu), Centre européen de recherche et d'enseignement des géosciences de l'environnement (CEREGE), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Collège de France (CdF (institution))-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: Environmental Chemistry Letters
Environmental Chemistry Letters, 2023, 21, pp.1-7. ⟨10.1007/s10311-022-01411-2⟩
ISSN: 1610-3653
1610-3661
DOI: 10.1007/s10311-022-01411-2⟩
Popis: National audience; Humans are messy, and not just here on Earth (Bohannon, 2015). On November 15, 2021, a Russian anti-satellite test produced more than 1,500 pieces of orbital debris that threatened the crew of the international space station. The crew members sheltered in capsules in case they had to evacuate. So far, more than 8000 tons of orbital debris have been generated from human space missions. Moreover, the dawn of ‘space tourism’, a term popularized by recent space missions, marks an acceleration of the era of spaceindustrialization. While recent reports have focused on space collisions induced by space debris, there is actually little discussion on the effect of space industrialization on the earth's environment. Here, we review the impacts of space debris on earth's environment. About 23,000 objects larger than a softball, more than about 10 cm, amounting to a total weight of 8000 tons, are actually orbiting the earth at speeds up to 17,500 miles per hour. By reflecting and scattering sunlight, man-made space objects and debris have increased the night sky brightness on earth by approximately 10% of the luminance of a typical naturalnight sky. Upon burning, some space debris consumes ozone and release carbon dioxide, which may—unlike in the lower atmosphere—induce cooling and contraction of the thermosphere due to increased heat shedding via infrared radiation. Rocket and plane propellants are likely to pollute the earth’s atmosphere and deplete the stratosphericozone. The falloff of nuclear powered engines and parts may cause large radioactive pollution. As a consequence, mitigation guidelines for orbital debris have been proposed by some countries, though with limited success to date.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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