Alanna Gillis

Opinions Editor

amg7393@psu.edu

Earlier this month, a piece of a rocket that had been drifting in space collided with the moon, leaving an impact crater on the surface. This is the first event of its kind, and we, as denizens of the Earth, need to make sure that it is the last. 

The rocket was completely destroyed on impact, which marred the surface of the Hertzsprung crater. 

While many astronomers claim this is not an event to worry about at the current time, given that the moon’s population is strictly robotic, that is not always going to be the case. Lunar exploration is becoming increasingly popular, and given the number of billionaires familiarizing themselves with space, I do not think it is wrong to assume that the colonization of planets other than Earth is fast approaching. 

However, I think that there should be an objective look at what the rocket smashing into the moon could mean. Regardless of what space expedition the piece was from, something human-made has destroyed a part of space. 

Humans already have a terrible knack for destroying planets though; take a look at Earth. Human industrialization, while it has allowed for many, many technological advancements, has practically destroyed our planet. The Center for Biological Diversity states that global warming is predicted to cause one-third of the Earth’s animal and plant species to become extinct if current greenhouse gas emission trajectories continue. 

Pollution is another human activity that is no longer limited to Earth. There are over 34,000 pieces of debris in space that are human made. This debris consists of discarded launch vehicles or other spacecraft parts and around 3,000 out-of-use satellites. 

In fact, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, scientist Donald Kessler proposed that the amount of debris in space would eventually become so significant that it could cause the Earth’s orbit to become unstable. While his hypothesis is rather extreme, there are experts who believe that a variant of Kessler’s proposition is highly possible. 

NASA reports that debris orbits below 600 kilometers will fall back to Earth within several years. More worryingly, debris that orbits above 1,000 kilometers will continue to orbit the earth for a century or more. This debris could chart a course similar to that of the rocket piece and collide with the moon, or it could collide with other space debris, causing the amount orbiting Earth to increase. 

The rocket piece’s collision with the moon is the first time humans have been the cause of the destruction of an astronomical object that is not Earth. I believe it should be the last. We, as a species, have already caused massive amounts of destruction to our own planet. We need to be more responsible and take better care of the astronomical bodies which we do not inhabit.