01.11.2023
ESA’s Zero Debris approach
Space debris is defined as “All non-functional, human-made objects, including no longer functioning spacecraft or fragments of them, in orbit or reentering Earth's atmosphere.”
Since the start of the space age in 1957, humankind has launched almost 50 thousand tonnes of material into space. Some of that has returned, but today about 10 thousand tonnes remain in orbit and on average one object returns to Earth every week, uncontrolled.