PROBLEM STATEMENT:
The space industry considers the demise of a space object from earth orbit as the end of the debris problem. But this attitude ignores the resultant gaseous and particulate contamination of earth’s atmosphere as the debris combusts and vaporizes.
BACKGROUND:
•Each year the Earth collects large amounts of extra-terrestrial material, with a global annual estimate of 1,555 (±753) t/year. A significant fraction is in the form of submillimeter cosmic dust, originating from asteroids and comets. This material adds elements such as nickel and sodium to the Earth's atmosphere, which effect the ionosphere. (Suttle and Folco, 2020)
•Metal ions (Fe+, Mg+, Na+, Si+ etc.) have been observed since the 1960s. The metal layers peak between 85 and 95 km altitude. Metal ions are produced directly during meteoric ablation (Plane et al, 2018)
QUESTION:
Are there any additional (not previously present) elements resulting in the upper atmosphere from the ablation of the Orbital debris, and if so, how significant are they?
The space industry considers the demise of a space object from earth orbit as the end of the debris problem. But this attitude ignores the resultant gaseous and particulate contamination of earth’s atmosphere as the debris combusts and vaporizes.
BACKGROUND:
•Each year the Earth collects large amounts of extra-terrestrial material, with a global annual estimate of 1,555 (±753) t/year. A significant fraction is in the form of submillimeter cosmic dust, originating from asteroids and comets. This material adds elements such as nickel and sodium to the Earth's atmosphere, which effect the ionosphere. (Suttle and Folco, 2020)
•Metal ions (Fe+, Mg+, Na+, Si+ etc.) have been observed since the 1960s. The metal layers peak between 85 and 95 km altitude. Metal ions are produced directly during meteoric ablation (Plane et al, 2018)
QUESTION:
Are there any additional (not previously present) elements resulting in the upper atmosphere from the ablation of the Orbital debris, and if so, how significant are they?