Space Junk (Kessler Syndrome):
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More than 5 decades of human space exploration since the first Soviet-launched Sputnik satellite in 1957 has produced a hazardous belt of orbiting debris in the space.
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There are estimated to be more than 100 million pieces circling our planet in the lower orbit, posing a growing threat to future space exploration.
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Much of the debris is in low Earth orbit, within 2,000 km of Earth’s surface, though some debris can be found in geostationary orbit 35,786 km above the Equator.
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These pieces of debris travel at high speeds. A relatively small piece of orbital debris can inflict a great deal of damage on satellites or spacecraft orbiting in the space.
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Kessler Syndrome:
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The free floating space debris is a potential hazard for operational satellites and colliding with them can leave the satellites dysfunctional.
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This is referred to as Kessler Syndrome, named after NASA scientist Donald Kessler in 1978.
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It says if there is too much space junk in orbit, it could result in a chain reaction where more and more objects will collide and create new space junk in the process, to the point where Earth’s orbit becomes unusable – a Domino Effect.
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With countries launching more and more satellites, each one of them being a strategic or commercial asset, avoiding collisions could become a challenge in the future.
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Why in news?
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A leftover piece of Chang-e (a lunar mission of China) flying through space reportedly hit the surface of the moon creating a new crater that may be around 65 feet wide.
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