\u00a9 shutterstock\/Mike Mareen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nHowever, the scientists believe that satellite sustainability should be enforced to include any nation with plans to use Earth\u2019s orbit. Any agreement must include measures to implement producer and user responsibility for satellites and space junk from the time they launch. Commercial costs should also be considered when looking at ways to incentivise accountability.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThese considerations are consistent with current proposals to address ocean plastic pollution as countries begin negotiations for the Global Plastics Treaty.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWhat can be learned from ocean management efforts? <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\nThis week, after 20 years, UN Member States agreed on a treaty to protect the High Seas. Although this groundbreaking agreement will ensure that ocean activity is managed and marine environments are preserved, it comes after many years of insubstantial governance, which has led to overfishing, habitat destruction, deep-sea mining exploration, and plastic pollution.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe experts believe that to avoid the same fate as the High Seas, it is imperative that immediate action should be taken to protect our planet\u2019s immediate surroundings from space junk.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nDr Imogen Napper, Research Fellow at the University of Plymouth, led the newly-published study with funding from the National Geographical Society. She said: \u201cThe issue of plastic pollution, and many of the other challenges facing our ocean, is now attracting global attention. However, there has been limited collaborative action and implementation has been slow. Now we are in a similar situation with the accumulation of space debris. Taking into consideration what we have learned from the high seas, we can avoid making the same mistakes and work collectively to prevent a tragedy of the commons in space. Without a global agreement, we could find ourselves on a similar path.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nDr Kimberley Miner, Scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, added: \u201cMirroring the new UN ocean initiative, minimising the pollution of the lower Earth orbit will allow continued space exploration, satellite continuity, and the growth of life-changing space technology.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nMelissa Quinn, Head of Spaceport Cornwall, said: “Satellites are vital to the health of our people, economies, security and Earth itself. However, using space to benefit people and the planet is at risk. By comparing how we have treated our seas, we can be proactive before we damage the use of space for future generations. Humanity needs to take responsibility for our behaviours in space now, not later. I encourage all leaders to take note, to recognise the significance of this next step and to become jointly accountable.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Scientists have called for a legally-binding treaty to ensure Earth\u2019s orbit is not harmed by space junk as the global space industry grows.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":30864,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[771],"tags":[24432],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Global action required to clean up space junk<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n