The article by Moriba Jah addresses the critical issue of space debris and its growing impact on activities in low Earth orbit. It proposes the idea of equipping satellites with thrusters to guide them into the sun at the end of their operational lives to mitigate this issue. However, Jah highlights the significant energy and precision challenges involved in this approach, along with the environmental implications of such actions. The article emphasizes that attention is also needed for debris on other celestial bodies and facilities planned for future human occupation.
"The approach would require a considerable amount of energy because Earth's orbital velocity around the sun is extremely high, and a satellite would need to be deorbited..."
"Attention should also be given to junk in orbit about or on the surfaces of other bodies in the solar system... especially true of bodies that may have human-occupied facilities..."
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