Since the 1950s, when the space race began, a number of countries, most notably the US and the former Soviet union, as also India, have been sending manned and unmanned missions to the moon and other planets. When the missions end, the probes are inevitably crash-landed on the heavenly body they were investigating.
This means that not only has man filled his home planet with trash , he has also left tonnes of debris strewn on planets and their satellites across the solar system. The moon in particular has nearly 180,000 kilos of man-made material lying on it.
Litter on the lunar surface includes wreckage of spacecraft–more than 70 vehicles in all. Other objects include geological tools, shovels , rakes, plaques , flags, golf balls, dozens of pairs of boots, 96 packs of faeces, urine and vomit, empty food packets, TV cameras, magazines, backpacks, medals, pens, a silicon disc with messages from 73 world leaders, an Eagle feather and even a golden olive branch!
Astronauts from the Apollo missions alone left over 50 tonnes of litter.
Is there a law to prevent countries from littering space? The 1967 Outer space Treaty does require explorers to ‘avoid harmful contamination of the moon and other celestial objects’. But since it bans territorial claims in space, there is no central authority to enforce law against littering or anything else.
NASA keeps a list of all human-introduced garbage on the moon but it also tries to protect remains of the Apollo missions citing their ‘historical and scientific value’!
Picture Credit : Google