Keeping space tidy should become a global UN goal, say researchers

The rising threat of space junk should be tackled by a new global agreement to safeguard Earth’s orbit, say a group of researchers who are calling for the United Nations to make the protection of space a key international goal.

Although there are existing guidelines to tackle space debris, such as the UN Outer Space Treaty of 1967, the researchers, writing in the journal One Earth, call for further action to “increase awareness about the use of orbital resources and the growing risks of orbital pollution, whilst sending a strong message that Earth’s orbit is not disconnected with Earth”.

Specifically, the team proposes that the protection of space be added to the UN’s existing sustainable development goals (SDGs), which are 17 broad objectives set for member states to achieve by 2030. These include eradicating poverty, promoting quality education and gender equality, ensuring access to affordable and clean energy, and tackling climate change “They were set up to provide a sustainable future,” says team member Heather Koldewey at the Zoological Society of London. “But there is nothing for space.”

To rectify that, the researchers want to add an 18^th SDG, with pledges that include ensuring satellites and rockets are removed from orbit at the end of their useful life to prevent collisions and the creation of new debris, and the introduction of fines and legislation to ensure accountability. “We know from the oceans that removing debris once it’s there is extremely challenging,” says Koldewey. “We want to avoid the same thing happening in space.”

The number of active satellites in orbit has rocketed in recent years, from fewer than 3000 in 2020 to more than 10,000 today. The bulk of that increase is down to around 7000 satellites that make up SpaceX’s Starlink space internet mega constellation. Many thousands more are planned by other companies and countries, including Amazon and China, as they create their own large constellations. On top of this, there are thousands of empty rockets orbiting Earth and millions of pieces of space junk.

Including space debris in an 18^th SDG could raise the profile of the issue, says Christopher Newman, a space lawyer at Northumbria University, UK. “Anything that raises awareness of space debris has got to be a good thing,” he says. However, he says that getting countries to take action is more difficult. “If we get an 18^th SDG, what’s next?” he says. “All international agreements and treaties are creatures of compromise.”

Hugh Lewis, a space debris expert at the University of Southampton, UK, says that creating an SDG focused on space would be a “worthwhile endeavour”. However, he adds that there are already ongoing mechanisms to tackle space debris, like the UN’s long-term sustainability goals for outer space activity and more localised action, such as in the US, where the Federal Communications Commission has introduced a five-year rule to remove dead satellites from orbit. “It’s difficult to argue that it’s not already on the UN agenda,” says Lewis.

There is also the issue of whether SDGs achieve their goals. Last year, the UN reported that less than a fifth of the targets set out in the 17 existing SDGs were on track.

Besides that, the elephant in the room is that nothing meaningful can happen without the agreement of SpaceX and its owner, Elon Musk. “You cannot talk about space governance without talking about them now,” says Newman. “We can’t just look at member states any more.”