The chance of someone being killed by space junk falling from the sky may seem extremely tiny. After all, nobody has yet died from such an accident, though there has been injury and damage to property. But given that we’re launching an increasing number of satellites and rockets into space, do we need to start taking the risk more seriously? A new study has given us an answer.

The study investigated the uncontrolled arrival of artificial space debris (碎片), such as spent rocket stages associated with rocket launches and satellites. Using mathematical modelling of the inclinations (倾斜度) and orbits of rocket parts in space, as well as the past 30 years’ satellite data, the authors estimated where rocket debris and other pieces of space junk will land when they fall back to Earth.

The authors calculated a “Casualty (死亡) expectation” over the next decade as a result of uncontrolled rocket re-entries. Assuming that each re-entry spreads deadly debris over an area of ten square metres, they found that there is a 10% chance of one or more casualties over the next decade, on average.

But as the number of entries into the rocket launch business increases and the business moves from governments to private institutions, it’s highly likely that the number of accidents, both in space and on Earth, will increase. The new study warns that the 10% figure is therefore a conservative (保守的) estimate.

The European Space Agency is planning a mission to remove space debris with a four-armed robot. The UN, through its Office of Outer Space Affairs, issued a set of Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines in 2010, which was improved in 2018. However, they are just guidelines and do not give specifics as to how effective activities should be performed.

There are some technologies that can make it possible to control the re-entry of debris, but they are expensive to carry out. For example, spacecraft can be “passivated”, whereby unused energy (such as fuel or batteries) is expended rather than stored once the lifetime of the spacecraft has ended. The choice of the orbit for a satellite can also reduce the chance of producing debris. Therefore more efforts should be made to perfect technologies and improve mission design.

She was a mother of three living in a small apartment and working four jobs. And then, as if in a fairy tale, she won her state’s lottery last year. But the story doesn’t have the happy ending you might expect.

She didn’t do anything overly extravagant after the $1.3 million got slashed in taxes. She bought a house, got a new wardrobe at the Salvation Army, cut work down to just one job and invested the rest. And then came the phone calls: promises, marriage proposals, accusations, threats. People who used to volunteer to help her do things wanted money for their trouble. Family members, she says, tried to run her life, and control her money. “Sometimes I wish I could change my name and go somewhere and hide,” said the woman, who asked not to be identified to prevent further attention.

It’s fun to think about what you would do if you played lottery numbers that brought in millions of dollars. But, disillusioning as it may seem, big winnings can come with big costs, especially because of the greed of others, experts say.

Jim McCullar of Washington state, who claimed half of the Mega Millions $380 million prize Thursday, said he was initially afraid to come forward because “all we saw were predators and we were afraid to do anything until we got down here with police protection”.

McCullar is “not going to know who to trust and whether he can even stay and live in the same hometown,” said Steven Danish, professor of psychology and social and behavioural health at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Lottery winners sometimes experience high-profile misfortune. West Virginia businessman Andrew “Jack” Whittaker Jr. is a well-known example; he won $112 million after taxes in 2002. Among his personal tragedies since then, his granddaughter and daughter have both died, and he has allegedly been robbed several times. Another case is Abraham Shakespeare of Florida, who was slain after winning a $31 million lottery prize. A friend was charged with murder in his death last year and has pleaded not guilty. Shakespeare, Whittaker and other unlucky winners have been featured in documentaries such as E!’s Curse of the Lottery.

Winning money in a lottery isn’t always a “Lost”-style curse, of course. Lee McDaniel, 67, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, won $5 million in the Georgia Lottery last year. He says he has seen no downsides at all and doesn’t have anyone in his life after his money. He remodeled his house, bought a large RV and a Jeep, and invested a good chunk of it at low risk.

Aside from those material upgrades, one of the greatest parts of winning, in his view, was being able to help his sister in California, who needed a leg amputation (截肢). She would have had to live in a nursing home, but McDaniel gave her enough money to build a ramp in her own home. He and his wife also gave money to other relatives, just because they wanted to. “I don’t feel that I have changed. I am just very secure financially,” he said.

“It’s not clear that winning money changes personality, and it’s impossible to know how people’s lives would have gone otherwise had they not won,” Norton said.

The woman who used to work four jobs said she didn’t feel that she had changed — but a lot of people around her had. She was grateful for what she had but felt scared to lose it.

“I don’t know whether ‘happy’ is the word,” she said. “I’m still trying to grasp it.”

Technology has undoubtedly opened up the world for me. Literally, in the case of my fully accessible home. My windows are automatic, and my front door is automatic too. There are also my wheelchairs. I guess that any wheelchair user will say the best invention is that of the wheel. It’s a tool bringing independence and comfort.

Last week, I took a well-deserved break from work and went on a staycation in my local area. On the first day, I was heading further out in my power wheelchair than I’ve ever been on my own. This chair is almost like a Transformer. I like the speed, the phone charger and the flexible feature. It’s a wonderful creation.

However, while there are many benefits that come with technology, I still live in a disabling world. For example, out in my power wheelchair that day, feeling free and easy, I headed straight to the shop not far away. I deserve to feel heard and included when innovation is concerned. But when I got there, I was confronted by self-service checkouts. While they are designed for easy and quick service, for me and many other disabled people, the lack of face-to-face services can put us at a disadvantage. Not only are the checkouts far too high, they are awkwardly designed so that you cannot approach them with a wheelchair. So, I waited for someone to assist me. In just a matter of a few hours, I had seen how technology and accessibility advancements have empowered me then, in the next breath, disabled me.

I still live in a disabling world with sub-standard accessibility. Therefore, disabled people by and large are more likely to rely on mechanical and technological devices such as lifts and communication aids. Unfortunately, these things are sometimes abused and mistreated, making the person relying on them dependent on others.