Sputnik, the world’s first satellite, was sent up in October 1957. About 100 trillion human-made objects are circling the planet now! The jaw-dropping number was provided by an international team of researchers writing in the journal Science. There are 9,000 active satellites in space, the scientists report. That could grow to more than 60,000 by 2030.The rest of that 100 trillion figure includes everything from used-up rockets and stray bolts(螺栓) to metal pieces and paint chips.
Don’t think a tiny piece of debris(碎片) is harmless. Traveling at 17,500 miles per hour, it can strike a spacecraft hard. The International Space Station is dotted with dents(凹陷) and holes. Astronauts often take shelter in an attached spacecraft to wait out a passing group of space pieces. That way, if the station is severely damaged, they can escape out in a hurry.
For years, this waste has formed an ever-growing mass near Earth. All of these pieces will eventually fall to Earth and burn up in the atmosphere. But we’re replacing the waste more quickly than it’s falling.
The mess we’ve made in space is like the mess we’ve made in the oceans. We’ve had centuries to pollute the oceans. But it has taken just decades for us to do the same in space. That’s why the Science authors include experts in satellite technology and in ocean plastic pollution. Cleaning up space has a lot in common with the challenges of dealing with environmental issues in the oceans.
In March 2022,170 countries signed a global plastics treaty(条约) in the United Nations. This is an agreement to throw away less plastic in the oceans and get rid of what’s already there. There could be similar rules for how many pieces a launch can create. Old satellites could be taken out of space. And technologies could be developed for cleaning up the waste.
【小题1】Why are small space pieces harmful to spaceships in space?| A．They travel at a high speed. | B．They can be attached to spacecraft. |
| C．They carry damaging weapons. | D．They contain poisonous matter. |
| A．It flies over the earth forever. | B．It is removed faster than produced. |
| C．It can be reduced in the existing ways. | D．It can cause serious pollution to the oceans. |
| A．A global plastics treaty. |
| B．Possible effort to clean up the space. |
| C．Satellites collecting the space waste. |
| D．Technologies developed for cleaning up the waste. |
| A．Space Debris | B．Ocean Pollution |
| C．Space Challenges | D．Man-made Spacecraft |
