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Over the past 60 years or so of space exploration, humans have left some things behind: bits of satellites, moon buggies, Mars rovers, even human excrement. It’s all part of the countless bits of human-made material that some people have dubbed “space junk.”
But what if, many, many years from now, archeologists wanted to trace the chronology of space exploration by examining the items we left in our wake? A new paper in the journal Nature Astronomy argues just this, that artifacts should be considered heritage, rather than trash.
Lead author Dr. Justin Holcomb, assistant research professor at the University of Kansas, joins Ira to discuss shifting our mindset on “space junk.”
Dr. Justin Holcomb is an assistant research professor at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas.
The transcript of this segment is being processed. It will be available within one week after the show airs.
Kathleen Davis is a producer and fill-in host at Science Friday, which means she spends her weeks researching, writing, editing, and sometimes talking into a microphone. She’s always eager to talk about freshwater lakes and Coney Island diners.
Ira Flatow is the founder and host of Science Friday. His green thumb has revived many an office plant at death’s door.
This may be the first time space junk will collide with the moon.
In this excerpt from “Archaeology from Space,” Sarah Parcak recounts who inspired her to become a space archaeologist, from her grandfather to Indiana Jones.
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