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Roger Highfield, science director at the Science Museum Group, has discussed a new study that suggests the soot released by space tourism could have a bigger impact on the climate than the soot from aviation.
| 04 Jul 2022
Roger Highfield, science director at the Science Museum Group, has discussed a new study that suggests the soot released by space tourism could have a bigger impact on the climate than the soot from aviation.
With the space tourism industry set to rapidly expand over the coming years, evidence is suggesting that our cosmic backyard needs to be developed in a more sustainable way.
Research by UCL, the University of Cambridge and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has flagged a fast-evolving concern with the environmental impacts of space exploration.
“Currently, an estimated 500 tons of rocket soot is generated annually, less than those from the aircraft industry. However, when released into the middle and upper atmosphere, soot has a warming effect 500 times greater than when released closer to Earth because it persists longer and partly because there are typically no clouds and few to no aerosols competing with soot for the sun’s rays,” writes Highfield.
“The team calls for urgent research to assess the consequences of commercial space activities for the planet down below.”
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