Space needs to be protected as well.

Scientists argue that space needs special legal protection to protect its fragile environment.

The scientific, economic, and cultural benefits of space should be considered against the damaging environmental impacts an influx of space debrisroughly 60 miles above Earth’s surfacepose, fueled by the rapid growth of so-called satellite mega-constellations.

In the paper Astronomy of NatureThe authors state that space is an important environment that should be preserved for amateur stargazers and professional astronomers.

“We need all hands on deck to address the rapidly changing satellite situation if we can hope to co-create a future with dark and quiet skies for everyone,” says coauthor Meredith Rawls, a research scientist with the Vera C. Rubin Observatory and the University of Washington’s Data Intensive Research in Astrophysics and Cosmology Institute (DiRAC Institute).

The team, led by Andy Lawrence, a professor at the University of Edinburgh’s Institute for Astronomy, reports that the installation of large clusters of hardware in Earth orbitsome consisting of tens of thousands of satellites to deliver broadband to Earthare congesting space. Rocket launches are also polluting the atmosphere. Broken satellites that race at high speeds through orbital space threaten working satellites. Satellite flares also cause light pollution that disrupts research.

Scientists predict that the Rubin Observatory in Chile, which is aiming to conduct a 10-year astrophysical study, will be severely affected.

“Rubin Observatory will be one of the most severely impacted astronomy facilities by large numbers of bright satellites due to its large mirror and wide field of viewthe same characteristics that make it such a remarkable engine for discovery,” says Rawls. “I care a lot about how satellite streaks affect science, but the case for dark and quiet skies is much larger than that.”

These issues must be addressed holistically, according to the authors. Orbital space should be considered as part of the natural environment and protected at both national and global levels. They urge policymakers to consider the environmental impacts of all aspects of satellite constellationsincluding their launch, operation, and de-orbitand to work collaboratively to create a shared, ethical, sustainable approach to space.

“We are standing on a watershed in history,” says Lawrence. “We can cheaply launch huge numbers of satellites and use them to the benefit of life on Earthbut this comes at a cost. As well as damaging stargazing, the space industry may be shooting itself in the foot.”

Rawls also participated in efforts to protect and preserve the night skies through the newly established International Astronomical Union Centre for the Protection of the Dark and Quiet Skies Against Satellite Constellation Interference. The center is designed to bring together sky-observer stakeholders in order to share information about satellite impacts.

The new article was inspired in part by a legal dispute about how the US government licenses and authorizes commercial satellite launches. An amicus brief was filed for Lawrence by Rawls and coauthor Moriba Jaya, associate professor of aerospace and engineering mechanics at University of Texas at Austin. It states that the licensing of space launches should comply with US environmental regulations. The case, which could set a precedent in the growing campaign for “space environmentalism,” is currently before the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

“We believe that all things are interconnected and that we must embrace stewardship as if our lives depended on it,” says Jah. “Traditional ecological knowledge holds a key to solving this wicked problem.”

Jah, along with Steve Wozniak (Apple cofounder) and Alex Fielding (CEO at Ripcord), cofounded Privateer Space. Privateer Space will use a novel approach to accurately mapping the objects in orbit in near real-time to allow for the sustainable use by a growing number operators.

“The largest challenge we have is in recruiting empathy and compassion toward solving these environmental crises,” says Jah. “If we can find innovative ways to enable the general public to project themselves into this dire condition, and feel concern to address it, the Earth, and all of the lives she sustains, wins.”

Additional coauthors include the University of British Columbia, the Square Kilometre Array Observatory in the UK, the Jodrell Bank Observatory in the University of Manchester, the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (Germany), the University of Regina in Canada, Smith College; and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Source: University of Washington