The Environmental Cost of Space Exploration
By: Nicole Negudu
“That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind”. Neil Armstrong’s words have influenced millions to kindle an interest in space. However, humanity has been reaching for the stars for over thirty thousand years. It is an inborn desire to explore and understand that propels researchers to discover new things, especially in the limitless regions of space. Unfortunately, it is impossible to ignore the negative effects and flaws of the use of research and travel on our environment, seeing that it may slowly be damaging the planet we live on.
The most notable consequence is the contribution to an increase in global warming, which refers to the abnormally quick increase in Earth’s surface temperature over the past century. Particles from the rocket fuel are known to be five hundred times more effective at warming the atmosphere than all other types of soot combined, according to research conducted by Ryan et al. (2022. Scientists warn that the increasing trend of commercial space flights, combined with the dispersion of this soot and other harmful chemicals from rocket exhaust onto the earth, can cause irrevocable damage to the ozone layer.
In addition, clearing areas for use in rocket launches usually occurs in places that are far from civilian urban development. However, the space used by the organizers of rocket launches sometimes occurs near conservation areas.
In June 2024, a space company known as SpaceX had a launch. The rocket only lasted approximately four minutes in the air, and debris unfortunately landed in conservation areas nearby, disrupting the environment. It was deliberately placed in an area that was legal, but the ecosystems were still afflicted. This insinuates the protocol for selecting a site was not effective enough to prevent such an event from occurring. Ineffective protocol leads to preventable situations, such as the scattered debris in the conservation.
These are only two of the most notable environmental problems occurring in space exploration. Many more have been flagged by scientists without being resolved or attended to, such as the use of natural resources and pollution.
Despite these issues, space exploration is still indispensable to society. Space exploration helps to sustain developments in innovations that can lead to breakthroughs, which can then be applied to other subjects. This is visible in a subcategory of inventions known as “space spinoffs,” which were intended as objects for use in space, but were eventually repurposed in other industries. Furthermore, the study of the extra-terrestrial is also known to be not too far from that of philosophy, and another major reason for its existence could be the feeling of hope and introspectiveness that it brings to human beings.
In conclusion, the environment is an important factor to consider where space exploration is the topic. Although space exploration is currently damaging the environment, the use of environmentally friendly fuels aids, improving protocol, and most importantly, paying attention to issues and increasing active problem solving will enable us to continue in these studies without damaging our environment.
