The International Space Station has been circling the Earth for an astonishing 20 years, and in that time, it has played host to dozens of visitors from around the world and done innumerable experiments including giving us invaluable information on how human physiology adapts to microgravity; essential info for long-haul Mars missions. But what goes up, must come down. The station is currently certified to operate through 2028, but eventually, a combination of age, radiation and micrometeorite damage, and orbital decay will mean it must succumb to a fiery demise in the Earth’s atmosphere. Scientific American has the story on the ongoing problem of how to do this safely. Oddly enough, nobody really thought about this when they were building the thing one researcher, interviewed for the story, has said, “But my sense is that they didn’t actually think through the details until about five years ago Until then it was like, ‘La la la, it’s in orbit, we’re still building it, we’re not going to worry about how to get rid of it.’ Which maybe isn’t quite the way you should do things.” It’s a fascinating look at how we’re trying, with the benefit of hindsight, to keep the sky from falling.
Jack Forster, Editor-in-Chiefread more
Weekend Round-Up: Schoolhouse Rock, Soothing Shades, And Atmospheric Fires
