The mega constellation of satellites could be harmful to Earth's ozone layer.
Usually, those burning satellites in the atmosphere could contribute to the air pollution and wear out of the planet's protective layer if the continuous deployment of the spacecraft persists. Little by little, these actions are gradually geoengineering the Earth's form without us knowing.
Flocking of Defunct Satellites Sparks Environmental Issue
The less we know about the uninterrupted release of satellites in space, the more damage it causes to the planet.
It is expected that in the next few years, the usual place where the Earth orbits will be full of thousands of satellites, which would occupy the once-empty place.
According to Space.com's report earlier this week, it is highly anticipated that the ongoing SpaceX's release of Starlink satellites would form a mega constellation that is seen to grow non-stop.
While the company's plans could generate more benefits to the consumers, it will instead harm the Earth than help it.
Similarly, the China-funded project, "Starnet" and Amazon's "Project Kuiper" would form a network of satellites that would endlessly roam in the vast space. However, people are not aware that the aluminum in the spacecraft could get stuck when the satellites don't work anymore. This situation permits a lot of trouble in the atmosphere.
Upon entering the atmosphere, the artificial satellites would pose a space hazard when they bring an insurmountable amount of space debris like rocks, asteroid remains, and others.
In a study entitled "Satellite mega-constellations create risks in Low Earth Orbit, the atmosphere and on Earth" published in Nature last month, scientists warned that the "incinerated aluminum" could penetrate the ozone layer which unexpectedly "geoengineers" the Earth.
Scientists Plans to 'Artificially' Block Sun's Ray Through Geoengineering
In April, a group of researchers has planned to launch a geoengineering test run that aims to "block" the sunlight, and cool the Earth down. However, it was not continued since many concerned individuals have complained about it.
Assuming that the scientists' objective would benefit people who are enduring the sun's scorching heat, it does not stray away from the fact that it shares a similar effect produced by the aluminum satellites.
"Now it looks like we are going to run this experiment without any oversight or regulation," Boley said. "We don't know what the thresholds are, and how that will change the upper atmosphere," Aaron Boley, an astronomer from the University of British Columbia said in a report by Futurism.
The uncontrolled engineering could pave the way for the aluminum to leave an undesirable hole in the planet's protective layer.
As far as we know, the ozone layer absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation to shield the organisms living on Earth. If ever the defunct rockets containing burning aluminum fall into the ozone, tiny holes would be left behind in the layer.
As Boley said in his previous interview with Space.com, humans could not easily throw enough carbon into the atmosphere the same way that we do when dumping garbage into the oceans.
While we are aware that the existing plastic pollution on the Earth is only growing worse, we are mostly unaware that our atmosphere is sharing the same experience through the irresponsible deployment of satellites generating tons of space wastes that harm the planet.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Joseph Henry
