(File Photo / Pixabay) Garbage is not foreign in space. In 2021, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said that thousands of pieces of junk measuring approximately 10 centimeters (cm) in diameter exist in space. Identified were two types of space junk called natural and artificial debris. Natural debris are cometary and asteroidal material, while artificial junk refers to any garbage left by humans in space. According to NASA, most of the artificial junk found in space were dead satellites, abandoned launch vehicle stages, and bits and pieces of spacecraft that are accumulating in the Earth’s orbit, posing a great threat to astronauts. The Department of Defense’s global Space Surveillance Network (SSN), disclosed that 27,000 pieces of debris were found orbiting the Earth in 2021. As space explorations continue, experts fear that the space junk will gradually increase to an uncontrollable amount. This sparked concerns, fearing that it may later trigger a chain of reactions which might result in untold damage. Aside from it having the potential to bring more harm to human beings, space junk already threatens satellites and spacecraft. Considering that both spacecraft and the space debris travel at an extremely high speed, NASA explained that the impact of collision, even from a tiny piece of debris, could create big problems. “The rising population of space debris increases the potential danger to all space vehicles, including to the International Space Station (ISS) and other spacecraft with humans aboard,” said NASA in an article published on its website in May 2021. For insurance, in 1996, a French satellite was damaged by debris from a rocket that had exploded a decade earlier. The same situation happened in 2009 when an existing junk collided with a commercial spacecraft. To date, solutions and possible debris removal efforts and mitigation were discussed by experts around the world. International Space Conference To better understand this, the country’s national space agency urged students and astronomy enthusiasts to attend an international space conference that will be held on Feb. 4-5. The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) announced that the International Space University (ISU) Adelaide Conference returns in February 2022 with one of the most important space topics of our time: Space junk. Space agency representatives from the Indo-Pacific region, award-winning authors, technologists, and engineers will discuss solutions for space debris removal and mitigation efforts, both now and in the future, to solve the so-called “space junk” tragedy. PhilSA likewise announced that among the speakers of the event is an official of the country’s national space agency. “Join PhilSA director for Space Policy and International Cooperations Bureau, Atty. Noriz D. Castillo, along with top space agency representatives from the Indo-Pacific region, as they discuss the issue of Space Junk and the solutions needed to be implemented,” said PhilSA in a Facebook post. The said event will be held virtually from Feb. 4 to 5 and it is free for all students. Interested participants may visit PhilSA’s social media accounts to register.