Editorial

Dawn of space tourism: It is time to address the environmental impact of anthropogenic debris
upon above earth

Liping Liu1,2, Puqi Jia*,2, Yalin Huang3, Jie Han1,*

1. Institute of Global Environmental Change, School of Human Settlements and Civil Engineering, Xi’an
Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, People’s Republic of China

2. Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, College of Earth and Environmental Sciences,
Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, People’s Republic of China.

3. Department of Environmental Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, People’s Republic of China.

*Corresponding authors. Emails: [email protected] (P. Jia); [email protected] (J. Han). ORCiD:
0000-0001-6790-0650 (J. Han)

Abstract:

More than 8,000 tons of orbital debris have been generated from human space missions. Previous studies are
mainly concerned about collisions related to space debris, while discussions are very scarce on their impact on
earth's environment. Here, we present a compilation analysis of existing evidence and theories on the known
and potential impact of space debris on earth's environment. Specifically, man-made space objects and debris
have increased light pollution on earth by about 10%, where the zenith luminance reached to approximately
20 μcd m−2. Some space debris consumes ozone and releases carbon dioxide and other chemicals as they are
burned, resulting in the cooling and shrinkage of the thermosphere due to excessive heat shedding via infrared
radiation. Meanwhile, the solid and liquid propellants used in rocket launching may pollute earth’s atmosphere
and deplete stratospheric ozone. In addition, fall-off nuclear-powered rocket engines and parts can cause
large-area radioactive pollution by shedding nuclear fuels and debris. Some countries and institutions,
including China which recently completed its first rover landing on Mars, have issued mitigation guidelines
for orbital debris, with limited success to date. The humankind will not slow down their pace in exploring the
universe. Notably, space travel companies such as Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin, and SpaceX all launched their
space flights earlier this year to meet the emerging demand for untrained earth citizens to venture into space
for leisure. With the intensifying activities in space missions and tourism, it can be anticipated that more space
flights will take place in the near future, with more rockets, satellites, spacecraft, and inevitably debris left in
the orbital space upon earth, casting an increasing impact with potential threat to earth's ecosystems. We call
on global leaders and researchers to take actions to mitigate the unintended impact of space debris on earth.
Meanwhile, new technology and engineering advancements such as reusable and clean energy-fueled rockets
can drastically reduce orbital debris generated from space missions.

Keywords: Space debris; light pollution; atmospheric pollutant; radioactive waste; space travel
1

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3979481

1. Introduction

Humanity has continuously made progress in space expedition. The year of 2021 has been a particularly
busy year for the red planet. The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Perseverance
rover program (NASA 2021a), United Arab Emirates’ Mars Mission (UAESA 2021), and China’s Zhurong
rover (CNSA 2021) all marked new achievements in space exploration by the humankind. As humorously put
by John Bohannon, ‘Humans are messy, and not just here on Earth’ (Bohannon 2015), anthropogenic wastes
have become the common human footprints from those missions. Space debris, also known as space junk or
orbit debris (Chepkemoi 2019), refers to all kinds of abandoned wastes left in cosmic space (Fig. 1), including
discarded or out of control spacecraft, fuels, parts, and wreckages (NASA 2021b). Since humans started
launching artificial objects into space in the 1950s, space debris has continuously spawned and accumulated
(Lawler 2011; Staughton 2020). So far, over 5,250 space launches have been successfully completed,
producing an orbital wasteyard composed of approximately 23,000 objects large enough to be detected with a
total weight over 8,000 tons (NASA 2020; NG 2019), which escalates at 2%–5% annually (Fig. 2) (Witze
2018; Dekorsy et al. 2017).

Despite the recent attempts (Forshawa et al. 2020; Pultarova 2018), there is no practical method to clean
up space debris on a meaningful scale. As a constant risk factor for outer space safety, this aggravating issue
has raised emerging concerns by the United Nations (Crowther 2002; Schaper 1999), the European
Commission (Clery 2020), and countries actively engaging in space exploration missions including the United
States, China, Japan, and Switzerland (Clery 2012; CNSA 2016b; Loomis 2015; Normile 2016). Previous
studies and scholarly discussions, however, have centered on the risks of collisions caused by space debris in
orbits. According to a recent estimate by NASA, there are approximately 23,000 pieces of debris larger than a
softball orbiting the earth, travelling at speeds up to 17,500 miles per hour (ca. 7.8 km per second), which is
fast enough for one small piece of orbital debris to catastrophically damage a satellite or a spacecraft (NASA
2021b). In 1996, a French satellite was hit and severely damaged by the debris shed from a French rocket that
exploded a decade earlier (NASA 2021b). The risk of space debris-induced collision was vividly depicted in
the 2013 blockbuster film, ‘Gravity’, which raised public attention on space debris as a prominent safety
threat for astronauts working in international space stations. In the meantime, there have only been anecdotal
discussions on the potential impact of space debris on the earth’s environment and ecosystems (Graham 2021;
Sokol 2021; Staughton 2020). Here we provide a concise review on the evidence and scholarly opinions on
the impact of space debris on the ecosystem on earth, covering light pollution, atmospheric pollution, spread
of radioactive wastes, and other impact by scrutinizing existing evidence as well as new hypotheses recently
put forward in scientific literature.

2. Light pollution

The International Astronomical Union recommended that astronomical observatories should only be
established where the amount of light brought by light pollution to the natural sky glow does not exceed 10%
(Sokol 2021). A recent study suggested that places available for viewing stars without light pollution from
orbital debris and other man-made objects seem to be vanishing on earth (Sokol 2021). Space debris typically
travels at an altitude of 500–800 km above earth, although due to frictions, approximate 80 tons of the debris
will enter earth’s atmosphere, travel into the thermosphere (1000–2000 ℃), and stay at a lower altitude

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(320–480 km) (Lemaître 2019; Staughton 2020). Part of the space debris traveling through the atmosphere
will combust spontaneously (NASA 2010; Crowther 2002), although some aerospace materials burn
incompletely due to their high melting points (e.g., >1000 ℃). Incompletely burnt debris may generate fine
particulates, paint flakes, and solid propellant particles when colliding with each other or due to frictions with
the atmosphere when moving at high velocities (ESA 2020). Once released into the atmosphere, these
components reflect and scatter light, causing light pollution (Fig. 1) (Graham 2021; Kamenev et al. 1997;
Kocifaj et al. 2021; Sokol 2021; Staughton 2020). One study estimated that diffused light increased by about
10% due to objects and debris in the orbit (Sokol 2021). Preliminary estimates from the IAU suggest that this
additional source of light pollution increases the zenith brightness to about 20 μcd m−2, the threshold for light
pollution obstructing astronomical observatories (Kocifaj et al. 2021).

3. Air pollution

Like the ‘ozone hole’, changes in the upper atmosphere have significant impact on the environment and
climate on earth (Laštovička et al. 2006). As early as in 2010, NASA warned that the upper layer of the earth's
atmosphere had shrunk abruptly in just four decades, which had abnormally low densities that were about
30% lower than previous contractions on record since 1967 (Derrick 2010). Studies showed that, unlike in the
lower atmosphere, carbon dioxide (CO2) acts as a ‘coolant’ in the upper atmosphere on earth, constantly
shedding heat via infrared radiation. As carbon dioxide levels build up on earth, it makes its way into the
upper atmosphere and magnifies the cooling effect during the ‘solar minimum’ (Derrick 2010; Laštovička et al.
2006). There are three known sources of carbon dioxide in the thermosphere, namely, from the earth’s surface,
emissions from fuel combustion during rocket flights, and the combustion of space debris in the thermosphere.
Further, some metals and polymers in the orbit undergo chemical reactions when burning through the
atmosphere, depleting ozone and generating carbon oxides and nitrogen oxides in the thermosphere
(Staughton 2020) (Fig. 1). Further, metallic debris such as tungsten, beryllium, aluminum may also undergo
chemical reactions when they re-enter the atmosphere, and their impact on earth’s atmosphere is also worthy
to research (Physics Today 2009). Also, emissions from solid fuels and liquid propellants during rocket
launches can cause pollution in the atmospheric environments, of which the depletion of stratospheric ozone is
the most studied and concerning issue (Dallas et al. 2020).

4. Radioactive wastes

Shedding of nuclear-powered engines and fuels often cause radioactive contamination on earth. As of
2005, at least eight radioisotope thermoelectric generators, 13 nuclear reactor fuel cores, and 32 nuclear
reactors were still circling the earth in orbits below 1,700 km (WISE 2005). The United States and the former
Soviet Union had about one ton of uranium 235 and other nuclear fuels in their nuclear reactors orbiting in
space around the earth (Bunn and Holdren 1997; WISE 2005). Two nuclear-powered reconnaissance satellites
launched by the former Soviet Union brought radioactive pollution to earth surfaces. In 1978, a multitude of
radioactive debris from ‘Cosmos 954’ fell into earth’s atmosphere and spread over large areas in Canada,
where about 30 kg of enriched uranium on the satellite, reactor wreckages, and radioactive debris spilled on a
ground path stretching over a distance of 600 kilometers, causing serious radioactive pollution (SL 1981; Rich
1978; DiaNuke 2020). In 1983, the nuclear reactor core of ‘Cosmos 1402’ fell into the south Atlantic ocean
(Leifer et al. 1987; Rich 1983). About a year later, a series of aerosol samples were collected at altitudes

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between 27–36 km using high-altitude balloons in order to track and ascertain the whereabouts of the reactor
core. U(235) concentrations were found to be higher than background levels by 53 ± 20% at an altitude of 36
km, and the total excess of U(235) was estimated to be 44 ± 15 kg in the stratosphere (Paddy 1983; Leifer et
al. 1987). Here, a dreadful scenario exists in that nuclear reactors and radioactive materials will spread and
continue to pollute the atmosphere for many years after the life of the satellite ends (Levi 2007). Further, the
unrestrained nature of orbital debris means that these radioactive materials may fall into populated areas on
earth at unpredictable timing (CNBC 2021).

5. 2021: Dawn of space tourism

When Russian astronaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to journey into the outer space, no one
would think that ordinary people could, one day, venture into space for leisure (AIT 2021). A series of recent
events may have marked the dawn of commercial space travel, or ‘space tourism’, aided by the remarkable
advancements in astronautics and engineering in the past few decades. In addition to professional astronauts,
untrained earth citizens have traveled into space since the beginning of the new millennium when Dennis Tito,
an American businessman, became the world's first orbiting space tourist in 2001 (Wall 2011). The Russian
Space Agency put seven paying customers in space between 2001–2008 (Messier 2021).

The race to space accelerated abruptly in the year of 2021. Virgin Galactic, a US-based space flight
company, demonstrated the readiness of its air-launched spaceplane for ticket-paying passengers by
completing its first suborbital test flight with VSS Unity, a rocket-powered spaceplane (Malik 2021). On July
11, 2021, the VSS Unity successfully delivered a group of space tourists to the edge of space using a hybrid
propellant comprised of hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene, a solid carbon-based fuel, and nitrous oxide, a
liquid oxidant (VG 2021). The combustion of these fuels could produce greenhouse gases and air pollutants,
which can last at least two to three years in the atmosphere (AIT 2021; Marais 2021). Nine days later, four
citizens including Jeffrey Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com, took the New Shepard rocket launched by Blue
Origin, a private space tourism company founded by Bezos, for a short space trip by passing the Kármán Line,
the internationally recognized boundary of earth’s atmosphere and the outer space, and safely returned (BO
2021). Not to be outdone, SpaceX announced its schedule to offer 4–5 days of orbital travel using its Falcon
series of reusable rockets to propel its Crew Dragon capsule into the orbit, using liquid kerosene and liquid
oxygen (Marais 2021). On September 18, 2021, the Dragon and the Inspiration4 originated from the SpaceX
was successfully launched by its Falcon 9 rocket and finished the first commercial manned space mission by
sending four ordinary citizens into space for a three-day space tour and safely returned off the coast of Florida,
with its $200 million costs paid for by others (SpaceX 2021). This was the first time in history that humans
ever completed an orbital mission without professional astronauts, reaching another milestone in
commercializing space travel (SpaceX 2021).

These highly publicized events of individuals traveling to space for leisure and the much lowered costs of
space flight owing to technological advancements have sparked worldwide interests in the possibility of mass
space travel by earth citizens (Reeve 2021). Industry insights suggest that space tourism could be worth more
than three billion dollars by 2030 (Reeve 2021; Sheetz 2019). Meanwhile, criticism has also been raised with
respect to the environmental impact of those extremely costly and energy-intensive leisure activities
(Bohannon 2015). Sitting at the dawn of space tourism, it is important to establish international conventions

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and regulations and invest in new technology developments to minimize anthropogenic debris and pollutants
generated by those activities that are often left for decades in earth’s atmosphere and orbital space (Sheetz
2019) and ultimately, to aid in the sustainable growth of the emerging space travel industry.

6. Past efforts and a path forward

To date, NASA, the European Space Agency, and China have issued mitigation guidelines for orbital
debris (NASA 2011). In March 2020, the United States Space Force proposed the use of ‘Space Fence’ to
track space debris, which can detect 20,000 objects a day and track 200 near-Earth debris simultaneously
(Mizokami 2020; LM 2020). Earlier to this, the ‘ClearSpace-1 mission’ (ESA 2019), the ‘space harpoon’
(Pultarova 2018), and other initiatives were proposed by the European Space Agency to clean up space junk.
In these proposals, the first step was to capture space debris and then to push them into earth's atmosphere for
incineration (Pultarova 2018). The European Space Agency also planned to send a self-destructing robot into
orbit in 2025, which is designed to function as a ‘space vacuum cleaner’ (NPR 2019). As one of the
signatories of the ‘Outer Space Treaty’, the Chinese government also made a commitment to reduce the
production of space debris and invest in space debris clean-up programs (CNSA 2016a). In 2016, China
launched the AoLong-1 ‘Roaming Dragon’ satellite, a space-debris automatic cleaning aircraft which was
designed to ‘grab’ space junk orbiting in the space and ‘throw’ it back to earth’s atmosphere for burning, but
the results are presently unavailable (Forshawa et al. 2020). Some researchers proposed the idea of using
powerful lasers to clean up old satellites and other orbital debris upon earth (Wen et al. 2018). These
impressive proposals, however, faced significant technological or financial obstacles. It is also much better to
control the source of debris generation than to clean up the debris once it is left in space. So far, recyclable
rockets are the only proven option of reducing debris generation from space missions. Designed and
manufactured by SpaceX in 2010, the Falcon 9 is a reusable two-stage rocket that is designed to transport
people and payloads into the earth orbit and beyond. In the long term, using reusable rockets and spacecraft
with clean hydrogen-based fuels will fundamentally address the problem of space debris generation in future
space missions (Spacex24 2020).

Empowered by new technological and engineering advancements, humans will continue to explore the
universe in the coming decades, and perhaps in a more aggressive and frequent manner. Orbital debris can be
extremely persistent, is difficult to remove once it is there, and is continuing to be added every year, creating
‘stock effects.’ (Fig. 3). Launch rates of space objects reached around 110 per year in 2020, with annual
break-ups continuing to occur at average rates of 10–11 per year (ESA 2020). With the current enthusiasm in
space exploration and more countries wanting to join the race in a near future, the number of debris objects in
space is set to increase (ESA 2015, 2020). That means more fuel rockets, satellites, spacecraft, and inevitably,
debris will be abandoned in orbitals and outer space surrounding earth. There is already ample evidence on
their impact on earth’s environment, and their rapidly increasing quantities also pose a prominent threat to the
safety of astronauts working in space stations and perhaps the future generations of mankind entering or living
in space, which will become more difficult to navigate through. It is time for us to formulate a pragmatic,
environmentally responsible response to the legacies of past and future human space missions. Along with
astronautical engineers, environmental scientists and engineers have an essential role to take in addressing
these longstanding issues.

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Acknowledgement. This work was funded by the Young Talent Support Plan of Xi’an Jiaotong University
and the Research Start-up Fund for Young Research Fellows of Lanzhou University (No. 504000-561119211).

Conflict of Interest. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest in this work.

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https://www.wiseinternational.org/nuclear-monitor/629/radioactive-space-debris-what-goes-must-come-down.
(accessed 21 October 2021)

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Fig. 1 Man-made objects including space debris have increased light pollution on earth by nearly 10%. Zenith
luminance of this additional light pollution source reached about 20 μcd m−2 by reflecting and scattering
sunlight, resulting in the disappearance of locations on earth suitable for astronomical observatories. Some
space debris consumes ozone and releases carbon dioxide or other compounds when it returns to the
thermosphere and burns, which leads to the cooling and shrinkage of the thermosphere due to excessive
infrared radiation. Solid or liquid propellants used in rocket launching pollute the atmosphere on earth.
Although infrequent, radioactive debris have been left in earth’s atmosphere from nuclear-powered
components in space objects launched decades ago.

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Fig. 2 Since the 1950s, space debris has been increasing every year at an average rate of 2–5% a year. Payload
fragmentation debris accounted for the largest category of space debris emerged in the past decade
(2010–2020). Adopted from ESA (2020).

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Fig. 3 Snapshot of a data-driven animation of the debris generated from past human space missions
(1957–2015) and abandoned in earth orbits and beyond. It is estimated that, as of 2015, there were about
20,000 known pieces of space debris bigger than an apple —traveling at 17,000 miles per hour or faster
—making earth orbits and the outer space a very cluttered place. See the full interactive 3D animation at the
website maintained by the Royal Institution of the United Kingdom (https://www.rigb.org/docs/debris/).
Credit: Dr. Stuart Grey, University College London, 2015.

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