Space Pollution

By Author: K.A.Cassimally
Total Articles: 13
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I bet you haven't ever wondered about pollution of space. Yes, man started polluting space ever since Yuri Gangarin (first man in space) saw Earth in its entirety.

Earth is not only orbited by satellites but also by paint particles, pieces of glass and even apparatus used by astronauts in the past. These may be small (that's what we think - I mean maybe there're not) but note that if ever a spanner were to hit an astronaut's face shield, the latter would break down into fragments. The astronaut would, for his part, go straight up to heavens (or down in hell) and there would also be even more pollutants in space (the shield fragments).

Now, for those of you who have ever bothered to reflect upon space pollution, did you know that microscopic fragments also make up the space pollutant family? I didn't until I read an article (link below) from The Guardian newspaper.

Anyway, where was I? Yeah, there are even more things out there that are considered as pollutants. I read about particles invisible to the human eye and undetectable by Earth radars. Best thing though: they have the explosive power ...
... of a bullet!!!

With more and more satellites, probes and men in space, no doubt that pollution is going to rise. We really have to prevent this. How? Till now, space pollution has not proved to be a major threat to us, inhabitants of the earth. So, naturally there does not appear to be any hurry to find a solution. NASA though has put a small probe in a swarm of space debris so as to know them better. But as I just said, nobody is really caring about space pollution right now although I should think that in some fifty years (ok, maybe I'm exaggerating), this may well transform into one of those many threats to life on Earth!

If you have read this column up till now and are still undisturbed about space pollution please make a final effort and read this final paragraph (my last attempt to pass the message)

Astronauts' faeces are also (well in the past they were) released in space. Imagine me (a cool guy and proud guy) walking one hot day back home. All of a sudden, ‘splash', I receive an astronaut's faeces on top on my head!

Now that you are (finally) convinced about the main adverse effect of space pollution, read this article again and. Thrust me, you will be looking out at the sky and waiting for something to fall down, ‘Splash'!

About the Author K.A.Cassimally is the editor in chief of Astronomy Journal and Astronomy Journal Ezine. He is also the co-founder of the RCPL Astronomy Club. K.A.Cassimally is best known for his article 'Harry Potter and the Moons of Jupiter'.
He is also Senior Columnist at BackWash.com where he writes 'Not Scientific Science'.
Website: http://www.rcplastronomyclub.zik.mu
:http://www.backwash.com/content.php?id=358
Email: kcassimally@rcplastronomyclub.zik.mu