Space Junk Particles Detected in Earth’s Atmosphere

Space junk is the debris left behind from spent rocket stages and defunct satellites. Find out why the discovery of space junk particles in the stratosphere has implications for our environment and climate.

We humans have transformed out attitudes about junk over the course of my lifetime. I can remember the kids on the street where I grew up comparing, and feeling quite competitive, about how much trash our families set out on the curb.Sa

Trucks rolled around every week and hauled anything we set on the boulevard off to the dump on the edge of town. The guy who looked after the dump either burned or buried it, and nobody gave it any more thought.

Today, we recognize that waste management is a much bigger issue than we’d realized half a century ago. Concerns about pollution, habitat destruction, sanitation, public health and climate change have led to regulations and policies that tell us all how to go about getting rid of our junk sustainably.

Spacecraft and Satellites Leave Space Junk Behind

Ever since humanity began launching objects into space back in 1957, we’ve also been leaving…