A recent study from MIT has found that global warming may be altering our atmosphere. The available space in the area where satellites orbit is shrinking due to climate change affecting earth’s natural space-clearing processes. While overall change may vary with carbon emissions, available space may be reduced by 1/3 – 82% by the end of the century.
Many of our satellites orbit in the thermosphere, which expands and contracts with the sun’s activity, fluctuating every 11 years. This along with the carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases sent into our atmosphere, cause the upper layers to shrink. Climate change, while heating the lower area of the earth, cools this upper layer where satellites orbit. This causes the area to become less dense, at about a rate of 2% a decade and reduces the drag on the many tiny pieces of debris in this area. Less drag means less debris getting cleared, which means even less space for the satellites to orbit.
Millions of these tiny pieces of space debris – about 1/9th of an inch wide, and larger – are located within Earth’s atmosphere, colliding into things with the speed of a bullet. With about 12,000 satellites orbiting Earth, among which over 7,000 are in low orbit, where most space debris resides, a large decrease in atmospheric density could have a large impact on our satellites. In addition, crashing satellites can add to this effect, leaving more debris that will remain in this area for decades or centuries, leading to more potential satellite crashes.
RELATED STORIES
- https://apnews.com/article/climate-change-satellites-crash-earth-orbit-b21f43bbd8925d67264e41f6c24c73e1
- https://interestingengineering.com/space/mit-study-near-earth-orbit-satellite
- https://www.theverge.com/news/626810/space-collision-satellite-greenhouse-gas-emissions
- https://news.mit.edu/2025/study-climate-change-will-reduce-number-satellites-safely-orbit-space-0310
- https://www.dailysabah.com/life/science/climate-change-threatens-satellite-safety-in-low-earth-orbit-study
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