Recently in the news there has been information about the latest satellite, the UARS (Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite) falling to earth. I found this video that was captured as it fell over Canada creating a bright light show in the sky. People watching this may be astounded by the magnificent sight of this falling debris, but I just can not help but wonder about all of the other 900 satellites orbiting around us and how many of these are actually still operational. The UARS was originally built and functioning in 1991, but less then fifteen years later it was shut down, so it essentially has just been hanging out up there for six years. With as many satellites as there may be out of order in space it appears to me we are not just junking up our space here on Earth, but we have extended the junkyard past the exosphere. Not only are we suggesting more and more satellites to be sent into space, but also NASA has introduced the idea of having gas stations in space. From the information I have gathered I disagree that our ideas to expand our knowledge is being obtained in the most sufficient way. All that we extend into space eventually makes its way back to earth sometimes carrying toxic chemicals and must be shot out of the sky. But no worries most of these satellites remains wind up in our oceans! Out of sight, out of mind I guess the same goes for the planets that may also be gathering up any amount of our leftovers...
No comments:
Post a Comment