As more and more of the space around our planet is getting crowded with space junk, the European Space Agency has been discussing a way to help get rid of the problem. The current solution is to use nets that would look similar to those used for fishing to help gather and bring back the space junk so that it can be discarded safely and appropriately.
The way that this will work is that the net will be cast into space using some form of an attached rod that will be able to shoot out the net. The net will then be able to catch hold of whatever space junk is found and brought back for examination and proper elimination.
There have been many tests done so far to see how effective and realistic this idea really is for helping to clean up our space environment. It turns out that the thinner, more malleable nets are actually a good bit more effective than the thicker, stiffer ones. This could be due to the fact that space junk may come in all shapes and sizes and it would be more realistic to have something that could help conform to those shapes without too much difficulty.
The tests that have been done to this point have taken place in the Falcon 20 aircraft, which allows riders to experience 20 seconds of zero gravity. It is this short time window that researchers have been using to test the effectiveness of these new nets. They actually have worked so well during tests that they had to be cut loose before being able to shoot another net.
The idea of cleaning up space junk could also be easily relatable to the issue of cleaning up our beaches here on Earth. There are many ways to do it, it’s just a matter of being willing to find the right way and to consistently use it to help create a better world. In this case, as we become closer and closer to thinking of space as part of our environment and we become more willing to help keep it clean, the idea of using fishing style nets to help clean it up seems like a very doable objective indeed.
When there is too much space junk floating around our planet Earth, it can pose a safety hazard for all of us since there is no way to know if something may come shooting out of the sky at any given moment. Thankfully, the Earth has a very consistent gravitational pull so the only real concern here would be if there was a collision between space debris that could possibly cause a crash. The International Space Station is currently helping to monitor the known space junk and keeping a close eye on anything that seems to be moving or “out of place,” so to speak.
When it comes to space exploration and being more active in this particular part of our environment, there is a need to keep it clean just as there are so many conservationists vouching to keep our Earth clean, too. With innovative methods and ingenious ideas, there will be great solutions to these problems available very soon.
