Nasa fears ‘Kessler Syndrome’, where there is too much space junk for it to be safe to fly out, leaving us trapped on Earth.
By Daniel Bates
Nasa is considering using lasers to deflect space junk around Earth and stop it colliding with satellites.
Lasers similar to those used for welding in car factories would be fired through telescopes to ‘nudge’ piles of rubbish left in orbit.
The gentle movement would stop them from taking out communications satellites or hitting the International Space Station.
The process could also avoid what is known as ‘Kessler Syndrome’, where there is too much space junk flying around Earth for it to be safe to fly out, leaving us trapped on our own planet.
Such a situation has been predicted by Nasa for more than 30 years and a string of recent near-misses have added urgency to the need to find a solution.
