Tag: space

SPACE: Year of the Water Rabbit

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“Lievre de l’astrologie chinoise,” by Alice-astro (image) and Miuki (character), 2013. Wikimedia CC3.0. Included with appreciation.

Welcome, Year of the Water Rabbit. Seasons may give us the year, but the moon tells us when the year is new. Amidst feasts and fireworks, this year’s water rabbit may also bring scientific good tidings. Did you know that Chinese tradition places a rabbit on the moon? And now that rabbit may have discovered lunar water.

“Chane’e, The Moon Goddess,” Late Yuan or early Ming Dynasty. Courtesy of Art Institute of Chicago, ARTIC artwork ID: 1108 23. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

An ancient myth tells of Chang’e spirited from Earth to the Moon in a lovers’ tangled tale. She became the Moon goddess. But even a goddess can become lonely, so she was allowed to have a pet: a rabbit. Chang’e and her pet rabbit Yutu entered space lore when NASA’s Apollo 11 crew exchanged banter with Houston Mission Control just before the lunar landing in 1969, as the astronauts promised to look for the two lunar mythic figures. When China sent its first lunar probe to the moon in 2007, it was named Chang’e-1: its little robotic rover was name Yutu – Jade Rabbit. Chang’e was just getting started: in 2022, Chang’e-5 and its rover Yutu discovered evidence of water on the moon.

“Chang-e-5 orbiter ascender separation” by China News Service, 2020. Creative commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

Water on the moon is a big discovery. Water is necessary for human habitation: carrying needed water into space would severely limit stays. Water could encourage space agriculture: one can consume, and carry, only so much tubular food. Finally, water – yielding hydrogen – might provide rocket fuel. Processing lunar water will be a technical challenge, but having water to start with is essential. Thanks to Chang’e – moon goddess – and Yutu, the Water Rabbit (among other space missions globally), human exploration may open wider, and longer, horizons.

“Water detected at high latitudes on the Moon.” graphic image by NASA, 2008. Public domain image. Included with appreciation.

Back on Earth, Year of the Water Rabbit opens a holiday with a long tradition. In China, as early as the 14th century bce, astronomers began to track solar longitude and lunar phases, forming the basis for a scientific yearly cycle. In China, around the time when the Grand Canal began to take shape, the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 bce) initiated the tradition of honoring the new year. The following Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 bce) continued the custom, now turning its purpose to wishes for a good harvest in the soon-to-come spring. But it was not until the Han Dynasty (202 bce – 220 ce) that a method for determining the date was added, and families began to plan gatherings to feast and celebrate. The ancient lunar calendar was replaced in 1912 by the common, so-called Gregorian, calendar, but by 1949, popular practice prevailed and a public holiday period was renamed “Spring Festival” but is still called by many, Lunar New Year. Across Asia, and around the world, festivities feature feasting by sharing “longevity noodles.”

Noodles are a Lunar New Year culinary tradition. “New Year Prosperity Toss,” by photographer Jayden Teo, 2020. Creative commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

How did the Lunar New Year or Spring Festival tradition become associated with animals? The origins of the practice are shrouded in ancient history, but some folk legends exist. Naming years after animals is surely more poetic and interesting than sequential numbering. Around the first century ce, the zodiac menagerie was grafted onto a 12-year cycle repeating within a 60-year system. Within that system, animals dance through the elements of water, wood, fire, earth, and metal. Behold 2023: Year of the Water Rabbit.

Find the rabbit above. “Chinese Zodiac” by RootOfAllLight, 2018. Wikimedia Creative Commons, 4.0 Included with appreciation.

Brooke, K. Lusk and Zoë G. Quinn. “Thank you and Good Night, Jade Rabbit.” 5 August 2016. Building the World Blog, University of Massachusetts Boston. https://blogs.umb.edu/buildingtheworld/2016/08/05/thank-you-and-good-night-jade-rabbit/

Douma, M. curator. “Calendars through the Ages.” WebExhibits.org, Institute for Dynamic Educational Advancement (IDEA). https://www.webexhibits.org/calendars/calendar-chinese.html

East Asian Studies and Asian American Studies, School of Humanities. “Lunar New Year 2023.” University of California, Irvine. https://www.humanities.uci.edu/news/lunar-new-year-2023

Liu, J. et al., “Evidence of water on the lunar surface from Chang’e-5 in-situ spectra and returned samples. Nat Commun 13,  3119 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-30807-5

Timothy S.Y. Lam Museum of Anthropology. “History of Chinese New Year,” Wake Forest University. https://lammuseum.wfu.edu/education/teachers/chinese-new-year/history-of-chinese-new-year/

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Un

SPACE: Golden anniversary, golden opportunity

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“Apollo and Artemis,” by Brygos. Courtesy of Louvre Museum.” Image: wikimedia, public domain. Included with appreciation.

Apollo and Artemis are celebrating. It was 50 years ago that humanity last touched down upon the moon, in a series beginning with Nasa’s Apollo 11 in 1969 when Neil Armstrong took “One step for a human, one giant leap for humankind,” culminating when Apollo 17 in 1972 took the iconic “Blue Marble” photo.

“The Blue Marble” photo by Apollo 17 NASA crew, 1972. Image: wikimedia, public domain. Included with appreciation.

Celebrating the family golden anniversary, Artemis (Apollo’s sister, in Greek mythology) again circled the moon, preparing to land soon for a permanent home. Artemis mission partners Nasa and Esa plan to establish a base: “to live, to work, to invent, to create.” (Nasa: Nelson, 2022) A permanent lunar base may provide opportunity to support expeditions to Mars – and beyond.

“Mars” photo by ESA, 2008. Wikimedia commons 3.0. Included with appreciation.

December 11, 2o22 was a fly-by, orbiting and testing Orion equipment including a new heat-shield that proved successful as the space vehicle entered the atmosphere at 25,000 miles per hour (40,000 meters per hour) – speed as blistering as the heat of 5,432 Fahrenheit (3,000 Celsius). Next flight is planned for 2024-2025.

“Guadalupe Island” photo by crew of International Space Station, 2014. Public Domain, wikimedia. Included with appreciation.

Artemis and Apollo may now be celebrating in México: the mission capsule landed safely in the sea near Guadalupe Island, on the same weekend marking the 1531 sacred apparition and visitation of the patron saint of Mexico City- the feast of Guadalupe.

Amos, Jonathan. “Nasa’s Orion capsule makes safe return to Earth.” 11 December 2022. BBC. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-63937345

Nelson, Bill. NASA 11 December 2022. As quoted in Amos (see above).

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Un

 

 

 

 

SPACE: Hit and a Miss

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“DART’s Trajectory” animation based on NASA’s HORIZONS System by Phoenix7777. CC4.0. Included with appreciation.

Because there was a hit, there will be a miss, In baseball, that’s bad: in asteroid defense, that’s good. In a historic success, NASA, sent the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) to asteroid Dimorphos. It’s a small target: the relatively tiny asteroid is just 530 feet (180 meters) in diameter. And it’s a distance achievement: Dimorphos is 7 million miles (11 million kilometers) away. And it’s a fast shot: DART crashed into the asteroid at 14,000 miles (22,530 kilometers) per hour.

“Asteroid Dimorphos seconds before DART impact.” by Doug Ellison and NASA, 26 September 2022. Public Domain. Included with appreciation to Doug Ellison and NASA.

An asteroid that might someday impact the Earth could destroy life on our shared planet, as it did with dinosaurs 66 million years ago. The impact of a six-mile-wide asteroid, called Chicxulub by today’s scientists, hit just off Mexico and killed 75% of Earth’s species.

“Depiction of Spinosaurus” from exhibit at Visvesvaraya Industrial & Technological Museum, Bangalore, India, by VITM 2018. CC 4.0. Included with appreciation.

While a similar disaster is not imminent, preparation is. In an illustration of cooperation in our orbital commons, NASA worked in partnership with Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) and Italian Space Agency’s LICIACube. In four years, the European Space Agency (ESA) Hera mission will conduct surveys of Dimorphos to examine the crater left by DART’s direct hit. Both are part of the Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment (AIDA) collaboration.

There are between 1.1 to 1.9 million asteroids within the asteroid belt, pictured here as the white “donut” ring. Illustration by Mdf, Wikimedia/creative commons, public domain donation. Included with appreciation.

Meanwhile, the hit was deemed a success, knocking Dimorphos into a different orbit. The test proves we have capability to deflect an oncoming asteroid or comet, such as that depicted in the recent film “Don’t Look Up.” Want to see a video of the final moments before DART crashed into Dimorphos? Click here.

If our civilization is able to cooperate, and succeed, in something so distant, is there hope for similar cooperation and success a bit closer to home?

Can space cooperation bring the dawn of peace? “Pink Sky Peace,” by Pink Sherbet Photography, Creative Commons 2.0. Included with appreciation, and hope.

Greshko, Michael. “Dinosaur-killing asteroid most likely struck in spring.” 22 February 2022. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/dinosaur-killing-asteroid-most-likely-struck-in-spring

McKay, Adam, director, producer, writer. With Leonardo DeCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Rob Morgan, and Meryl Streep. “Don’t Look Up.” 2021. Hyperobject Industries. Trailer video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SL9aJcqrtnw

NASA. “NASA’S DART Mission Hits Asteroid in First-Ever Planetary Defense Test.” 26 September 2022. https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-dart-mission-hits-asteroid-in-first-ever-planetary-defense-test

Strickland, Ashley. “The DART mission successfully changed the motion of an asteroid.” 11 October 2022. CNN. with Video. https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/11/world/nasa-dart-success-update-scn/index.html

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Un

SPACE: Life on Mars?

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Mars appears to have had significant volcanic and seismic activity. Magma rising during eruptions could have melted ice near the surface, providing conditions for microbial life. Image: “Mars Seismic Wave Simulation,” NASA. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

Perseverance rover has collected some samples that may reveal if life on Mars is speculation, fantasy, or history. Jezero Crater once held a lake whose delta may have harbored lifeforms yet unknown to us. Jezero Crator is sizable: 28 miles (45 kilometers).

Jezero Crater seen from Perseverance. NASA.gov, public domain. Included with appreciation.

Recently, Perseverance explored a delta mount nicknamed “Wildcat Ridge” by NASA scientists. The rover found and scooped up high concentrations of organic matter. We know the organic nature of the rocks because samples are pre-scanned by a rover instrument called SHERLOC, or Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals.

Mars Sample Return Mission. Illustration by NASA. Public domain. Included with appreciation.

The Mars Sample Return Mission will bring the ultimate rock collection back to Earth’s awaiting laboratories in the next decade. While life forms did not greet the rover, discovery of the their possible past may reveal not just history but organic components that may help to determine our future – there, and here.

NASA. “Mars Sample Return Mission.” https://mars.nasa.gov/msr/

NASA. “Spacecraft Instuments, SHERLOC.” https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/spacecraft/instruments/sherloc/

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SPACE: Webb Opens New Window to the Universe

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“Webb’s First Deep Field image of galaxy cluster SMACS 0723.” 9 July 2022. Image from NASA, public domain. Included with appreciation to NASA and Webb team.

July 1969, humans first set foot on the moon. James Webb led NASA through the decade of the 1960s, preparing rockets, orbital spacecraft, and lunar landers that would deliver Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin (with Mike Collins flying the spacecraft that would circle while the two explored) and bring the whole crew back to Earth. The James Webb telescope, Hubble’s successor launched in December 2021, features 18 mirror segments and multiple scientific instruments that are able to coordinate views of the universe into one high resolution image. One of the most important instruments is MIRI (Mid-Infrared) that has a camera and a spectrograph that can see light in the mid-range infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum wavelength of 5-28 microns. That range allows Webb to see red-shifting light of new stars, distant galaxies, and even the edge of the Kuiper Belt of the outer Solar System, just beyond Neptune. Watch NASA’s event, revealing the first Webb views of the universe, here:

Bartels, Meghan. “Gallery: James Webb Space Telescope’s 1st photos.” 13 July 2022. Space.com. https://www.space.com/james-webb-space-telescope-first-photos

Brooke, K. Lusk and Zoë Quinn. “SPACE: Journey to the beginning of the universe.” Building thee World Blog 28 December 2021. https://blogs.umb.edu/buildingtheworld/2021/12/28/space-journey-to-the-beginning-of-the-universe/

NASA, “Webb Reveal,” 12 July 2022. https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-updates-coverage-for-webb-telescope-s-first-images-reveal

NASA, “Mid-infrared instrument (MIRI).” https://webb.nasa.gov/content/observatory/instruments/miri.html

NASA, “What is the Kuiper Belt?” https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/kuiper-belt/en/

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Un

SPACE: Sunny Side UP

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“Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) Shows Sun’s Rainbow of Wavelengths.” NASA, 2013. Image based on SDO data. Wikimedia. Public Domain. Included with appreciation to NASA.

It’s summer, season of the sun. On June 29, 2022, Nasa‘s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), usually monitoring the sun for signs of solar radiation that affect Earth, saw something new. A solar eclipse cloaked 67% of the orb, backlighting mountains on the moon. The sun is a central part of our system, both on Earth and in space: hence the name (from Latin for sun, “sol”) solar system.

“Solar energetic particles” by NASA STEREO. Creative Commons 4.0. Included with appreciation to NASA.

Space weather affects Earth in many ways. One example is the impact on satellites, or even terrestrial power lines, when the sun’s corona releases charged particles. As we send more satellites into orbit, the sun’s particle emissions and radiation will become increasingly important.

“Aurora Australis From ISS.” Aurora Borealis and Australis can be seen from the International Space Station (ISS). This image was taken by ISS crew on 21 June 2010. Image: wikimedia, public domain. With appreciation to ISS.

On a more aesthetic note, these are the same particles that cause the Northern Lights.

Dobrijevic, Daisy. “Space weather: What is it and how is it predicted?” 24 June 2022. Space.com. https://www.space.com/space-weather

Howell, Elizabeth. “NASA sun mission spots stunning solar eclipse in space.” 29 June 2022. Space.com. https://www.space.com/solar-eclipse-seen-from-space-june-2022

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Un

SPACE: International Space University

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NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg aboard ISS in 2017. In 2031, could this be you, studying science in an international space university? Image: NASA 2017. Public Domain: wikimedia.

In 2030, the International Space Station will be “relocated.” Where? Point Nemo: the most remote from land area of the ocean. NASA announced the transition “De-Orbit” plan, along with goals for the next decade. Future space goals include:

Enable Deep Space Exploration

Conduct Research to Benefit Humanity

Foster a U.S. Commercial Space Industry

Lead and Enable International Collaboration

Improve Humankind

While NASA’s statement praises the International Space Station (ISS) for two decades of scientific, technological, and diplomatic achievements including “biological, physical, biomedicine, materials, and Earth and space science,” the next decade is to continue science while “laying the groundwork for a future in Commercial LEO (Low Earth Orbit) Destinations by 2030.” (NASA January 2022)

Commercial enterprise in space includes Axiom. “Logo of Axiom Space,” public domain, wikimedia commons.

Speaking of the Commercial Leo Destinations (CLDs) by 2030, NASA makes a clear statement: space is moving from diplomatic cooperation to commercial collaboration. Recognizing the “over 20 commercial facilities operating aboard ISS today,” NASA names several enterprises (investors, take note) including: Axiom Space, Blue Origin, Nanoracks, and Northrop Grumman Space Systems. Yet, NASA’s comment that “the ISS remains the sole example of how an international team can productively and successfully cooperate over the course of decades in space” leaves open the question of how such cooperation may continue.

“University of Karachi” photograph by M. Yousuf Siddiqui, Creative Commons 4.0, wikimedia. Thank you to M. Yousuf Siddiqui for inclusion of this image.

Is there now an opening for a consortium of universities (by their very name, “universes” that are centers of inclusion) to plan an educational, research-based, international space university? Such a center of learning could continue the ISS vision, even as space’s sole center of international cooperation plans to transition. While private enterprise is a leader in innovation, commerce is proprietary. There remains a need for at least one place in space that belongs to all of those on Earth who share, equally, in the promise of space. If you were to found and name a university in space, what are your ideas?

NASA. “International Space Station Transition Report: pursuant to Section 303 (c) (2) of the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2017 (P.I., 115-10). January 2022.  https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/2022_iss_transition_report-final_tagged.pdf

Newman, John Henry. The Idea of a University. 2016. Download free, Gutenberg. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24526

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Un

SPACE: Do Look UP – Citizen Scientists Needed NOW

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Do Look UP. Nasa invites your views as a citizen scientist. Image: “Lucas Bornhauser,” by photographer Lucas Bornhauser, luboco, 2016. With appreciation. Wikimedia commons.

Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Ariana Grande, Tyler Perry and others star in the science fiction noir comedy “Don’t Look Up” by Adam McKay. It’s an allegory about climate change, government, politics, and media. The film set a Netflix record for the most views in a single week: maybe you have seen this movie. If you are among those, like DiCaprio and others, who are concerned about climate change, you may wonder what you as an individual can do. NASA has an invitation for you. Do Look UP!

“Don’t Look Up” Poster. Image wikimedia. Souce impawards.com/2021. With appreciation to the film team and impawards.

GLOBE CLOUD CHALLENGE welcomes citizen scientists to use the GLOBE Observer to identify clouds in their own area, timing observations with satellite flyovers. Satellites have a hard time identifying clouds, but these formations are easily seen from Earth. NASA hopes to collect 20,000 cloud observations.

“Cirrus clouds: sky panorama.” by Fir002/Flagstaffotos. Image: wikimedia. CC by NC. With appreciation.

What are clouds and why do they appear? Formations of water vapor change into gas that condenses with dust or salt from sea spray to form liquid or ice: when the accumulation is sufficient, a cloud happens. Even if you’ve never flown through a cloud, you’ve probably walked through one: on land, the same process produces fog.

“Fog Particles at Night” by Bill Larkins, 2011. Image: creative commons CC by SA 2.0 wikimedia. With appreciation.

High, thin clouds let sunlight through yet still prevent heat from escaping to space via infrared radiation: there is a net warming result. Low, thick clouds reflect sunlight but have no impact of infrared radiation: there is a net cooling effect. Without clouds, we’d have a much warmer planet. With climate change and global warming, clouds are very much part of the solution.

“Infrared image of storm clouds over central United States from GOES-17 satellite,” NOAA, 2018. Image: public domain. With appreciation to NOAA.

NASA’s cloud-observation satellites include Aqua, Aura, Calipso, CloudSat, and Terra fly over the Earth. Soon, the data will be matched with NOAA’s GOES-T. Clouds are one of the aspects related to climate change. According to Marilé Colón Robles, lead atmospheric scientists for the Clouds team at Langley Research Center, “Each cloud affects Earth’s energy balance differently.” (NASA 2022)

“Cloud types” by Valintin de Bruyn, for Coton, 2012. Image: wikimedia. With appreciation.

Here’s how to participate. Download the GLOBE Observer APP (available to those in 120 GLOBE member countries. Register as an observer, and then go outside and look UP. The challenge runs until February 15, 2022. After that, keep the app active: as a citizen scientist, you can also use the app to observe and report on three other categories: mosquito habitat mapping, land cover, and trees. Here’s the link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/globe-observer/id1090456751

“The five components of the climate system all interact.” by Fernkemilene, 2019. Creative commons CC by SA 4.0. With appreciation,

If you are not able to go outside, you can still participate. With the NASA GLOBE CLOUD GAZE app, you can look at photos, identify cloud types, and tag via a Zooniverse online platform. Here’s that link: https:www.zooniverse.org/projects/nasaglobe/nasa-globe-cloud-gaze

“Charged Cloud.” animation by NOAA, 2016. Public Domain. Creative Commons. With appreciation.

NASA. “NASA GLOBE Cloud Challenge: 2022: Clouds in a Changing Climate.” 12 January 2022. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/langley/nasa-globe-cloud-challenge-2022-clouds-in-a-changing-climate

NOAA. “Clouds and Climate.” https://psl.noaa.gov/outreach/education/science/clouds_and_climate.html

Pearce, Fred. “Why clouds are the key to new troubling projections on warming.” 5 February 2020. Yale Environment 360. https://e360.yale.edu/features/why-clouds-are-the-key-to-new-troubling-projections-on-warming

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Un

SPACE: Journey to the beginning of the universe

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James Webb Space Telescope. Image: Nasa.gov.

NASA launched the James Webb Space Telescope has successfully unfolded its gimbaled antenna assembly with the data dish that will beam back information about the earliest stars in the universe. Webb will take 29 days to reach the Lagrange Point 2 (L2) that is 1 million miles (1.6 kilometers) from the launch base on Earth. The Webb telescope, costing $10 billion, is considered the successor to Hubble. The upgrade is significant: Hubble could pick up only visible and ultraviolet light. James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) uses infrared detectors and spectroscopes.

An image from Hubble. James Webb is expected to offer even better views. Image: NASA.gov.

Developed by NASA, with contributions by European Space Agency and Canadian Space Agency, with manufacturers Northrop Grumman, and Ball Aerospace who built the primary mirror, the new telescope is named after James E. Webb, NASA administrator from 1961-1968 who played a pivotal role in the Apollo lunar program, directing advances to serve education and science. It is interesting to note that Webb was not a scientist, but an attorney and business leader who had served in the public and private sectors. Webb almost turned down the job, but President John F. Kennedy convinced him that he had the right skills for a broad program with significant missions. You can listen to the audio of President John F. Kennedy and James Webb as they discuss human spaceflight: here.

James Webb Space Telescope is on its way. Illustration by Kevin Gill. Creative Commons license CC by SA 2.0. Image: wikimedia.

The James Webb Space Telescope is expected to open a new era in space and science. What would you like to discover about the beginning of the universe? To track the Webb as it travels towards its goal, click here.

NASA. James Webb Space Telescope. Goddard Space Flight Center. https://jwst.nasa.gov/

NASA. James Webb Space Telescope is fully deployed. UPDATE: https://twitter.com/hashtag/NASAWebb?src=hashtag_click

Pultarova, Tereza. “James Webb Space Telescope: The scientific mysteries no other observatory could unravel.’ 24 December 2021. Space.com.

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Un

SPACE: Debris

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“Space Debris” Image: NASA Debris-GEO1280, 2005. Image: public domain. wikimedia and nasa.gov

Space just got more crowded, and dangerous. When Russia shot at one of its older, Soviet-era, satellites (Kosmos-1408 had been orbiting Earth since 1982)  to test a space weapon, the hit on the target blasted over 1,500 shards of debris into space. While other nations quickly condemned the test, China, India, and the US have also tested antisatellite missiles: the practice is so established that it has its own acronym: ASAT.

“Animation of GPS satellite’s orbit from 15 May 2013 to 6 September 2018” by Phoenix7777, 2018. Based on data of NASA and JPL. Image: wikimedia commons. Included here with appreciation to Phoenix7777.

Why is space debris a problem? At 17,500 miles per hour, even a paint chip becomes a lethal weapon. There are more than 100 million pieces of space junk bigger than one millimeter, with 27,000 larger than a softball (NASA 2021) and therefore more dangerous. There is no current method for vacuuming up space junk: some developing innovations include giant nets to capture shards as demonstrated by the RemoveDEBRIS or shoving devices that could push the pieces high enough into the distant atmosphere where they could safely disintegrate.

If space debris hit the cupola of the International Space Station, there could be great danger. In 2021, ISS astronauts were commanded to take cover during the ASAT test. Photograph by Scott Kelly, astronaut, 4 June 2015. Image courtesy of NASA, included with appreciation to Scott Kelly.

When KOSMOS-1408 disintegrated into flying debris, International Space Station astronauts received warnings to duck and cover. No harm occurred – this time. But collisions with space junk could destroy satellites, space stations, and space vehicles: crashes between orbiting debris chunks are also ominous possibilities that grow, as orbiting pieces increase, into probabilities. NASA and US Department of Defense’s Space Surveillance Network tracks 8,000 pieces most likely to cause problems.

“Dome of Hale Telescope at Palomar Observatory,” by Coneslayer 2007. Image: wikimedia.

Space satellites began with Sputnik, proliferated with COMSAT, and now number 3,372 as of January 2021, with 1,897 belonging to the US. Want to see some celestial traffic? In Massachusetts, visit the Gilliland Observatory at the Museum of Science. Harvard College Observatory, part of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, offers options. University of Massachusetts Lowell hosts viewing from the Schueller Astronomical Observatory. Or, visit one of the 25 best observatories in the US for an out-of-this-world vacation.

Grush, Loren. “Satellite uses giant net to practice capturing space junk.” 19 September 2018. The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/19/17878218/space-junk-remove-debris-net-harpoon-collisions

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/

Heilweil, Rebecca. “The space debris problem is getting dangerous.” 16 November 2021. Recode. Vox.com. https://www.vox.com/recode/2021/11/16/22785425/international-space-station-russia-missile-test-debris

NASA. “Space Debris and Human Spacecraft.” 26 May 2021. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/news/orbital_debris.html

RemoveDEBRIS. University of Surrey, UK. https://www.surrey.ac.uk/surrey-space-centre/missions/removedebris

SpaceX. “Starlink Satellite Launch.” VIDEO https://youtu.be/5h2t9Oyg2o0

University of Massachusetts Lowell. Schueller Astronomical Observatory. https://www.uml.edu/research/observatory/

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Un