PIGS MIGHT FLY
Saturn has its rings and we now have a ring of our own flying at 28,000 km/h around the Earth, a relatively orderly procession of space things, most of it is debris, but as yet no flying pigs.
An artist's illustration of humanity’s space junk ringing the Earth
Many scientists around the world have turned their attention to reducing the growing mass of space junk in orbit. This image was created by artists at MIT to demonstrate what sort of items are included in that ring around our planet.
In this article posted in the Smithsonian Magazine recently some experiemental effotts are being tested designed to capture and remove some of these objects which are collectively known as "space junk".
"Astroscale’s efforts are one of the first, tiny steps towards cleaning up debris. Its flagship mission is ELSA, short for “end-of-life services by Astroscale.” ELSA will drag satellites that are no longer operating down from high altitudes to the planet’s natural incinerator: the oxygen-rich atmosphere at lower Earth orbits. Both the space-cleaner and satellite will burn up here before they hit the surface of the Earth."
Seems like a great idea, doesn't it?
But if you read the article carefully you will find the the little test machine Elsa has serious limitations: it's incredibly expensive and the number of such waste disposal machines required would be as great as the number of of pieces of junk in orbit.
I find this just so sad. Millions of pieces of space junk have been shot into Earth orbit and our efforts to reduce them are pitiful. It's very much like what happens with waste and junk on Earth, the same thing applies: efforts to reduce or rid the planet of our waste are always pitifully less than the continuing proliferation of waste.
That's why I say PIGS MAY FLY!
However we are a brave and ingenious species and this morning's ABC news contained an item I simply must share with you in case it passed you by:
This practice of covering of glaciers to prevent too much melting has been around for about 15 years now, so today's item on the ABC News was possibly just a top-up from last year's news.
Anyone for an exercise in futility?
pt
ps.,
During this year, 2022, I heard that the glaciers of Europe had lost 6% of their ice in just the last calendar year.
Ah, the humanity !
ReplyDeleteMy US experimental filmmaker friend Wheeler Winston Dixon actually made a short film about space junk. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry as I watched things like milk bottles and old bicycles floating around the Earth.
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