Did You Know: Space – What is space junk?
Everywhere humans go, they leave garbage—and that includes space!
Space junk is the garbage left over from things we have sent into space.
These things are either broken or no longer needed. There are millions of pieces of space junk orbiting our planet.
Parts of rockets
Space junk includes parts of rockets that were used to launch satellites into space. These parts are left orbiting Earth.
Astronauts’ equipment
Sometimes when astronauts go on space walks, they “drop” things, such as cameras.
These things float away as space junk.
Old satellites
There are lots of old satellites in space. Sometimes they crash into each other, creating even more junk!
How can we clean up space?
Locate the junk
Big telescopes on the ground are able to locate space junk orbiting Earth.
They are powerful enough to detect pieces of junk as small as 0.4 in (1 cm) across.
Collect the junk
These grids are junk collectors that are being tested outside the ISS.
The grids are made up of trays of a spongelike gel, which traps tiny pieces of space junk orbiting Earth.