Watch: We’re littering space. Now scientists have created a high-tech harpoon to clean it up
Half a million pieces of man-made space junk are orbiting the Earth right now.
Did you know there are half a million pieces of man-made space junk orbiting the Earth right now? We humans are polluting space systematically. Scientists in the UK have said that this rubbish floating in space can harm global communications and obstruct satellites and space crafts.
Which is why they have devised a machine that can clean up this space junk. It’s not a vacuum-cleaner but a very long harpoon. This one-meter-long device will be attached to a spacecraft and, when released, will pierce bits of metal debris around it. The spacecraft will then send the piece hurtling down to Earth so that it can burn in transit.