Scientists reveal likelihood of being killed by objects from orbit is rising

THE CHANCES of being killed by an object falling from space are slim but rising, researchers claim.

Thanks to increasingly efficient launches, our orbit is more full of expended rockets than ever and these projects have advanced our knowledge of space but may come back to hurt or kill someone.

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Earth is constantly peppered by space dust careening through space.

Monica Grady, a professor of planetary science at The Open University, revealed in an article for The Conversation that almost 90million pounds of space dust harmlessly settles on Earth each year.

A new study published in Nature Astronomy argues that natural objects like meteors pose less of a threat than a manmade object falling to Earth and killing a person.

The likelihood one or more person is killed by manmade space debris within the next 10 years is about 10%, researchers claim.

The study’s model was based on the assumption that a descending, uncontrolled rocket will have an impact area of ten square meters.

When rocket boosters are ditched after propelling the payload to space, “a substantial fraction of their mass survives the heat of atmospheric reentry as debris,” the study explains.

“Many of the surviving pieces are potentially lethal, posing serious risks on land, at sea and to people in aeroplanes.”

Fortunately, no one has yet been killed by a fallen rocket booster or module but there have been close calls and a debris from a Chinese rocket is expected to touch down as soon as this week.

Researchers argue that governments and private space agencies are uncoordinated in the potentially global problem of falling rocket bodies and space craft.

“The 2018 UN Guidelines for the Long-term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities call on national governments to address risks associated with the uncontrolled reentry of space objects, but do not specify how,” the study authors write.

Worse yet, countries with little investment or say in space travel are more likely to be affected.

Professor Grady also highlighted a segment of the study that says the latitudes housing major cities like New York and Beijing are three times less likely to be struck than the latitudes where less powerful cities and countries reside.

Prevention measures like ferrying space junk out of harm’s way have been lightly deployed, and reusable, self-landing rockets don’t contribute to the death-by-fallen rocket problem.

But without maintenance, our space-bound creations could come crashing down on us.