To reduce space junk, the European Space Agency is promoting a space "zero debris" policy.

CTOnews.com, January 20 (Xinhua)-- the European Space Agency is promoting a "zero debris" policy that will force companies and governments to remove any space junk launched from Earth, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Josef Aschbacher, director of the European Space Agency, said in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos that he wanted to establish a zero-debris policy, "which means that if you put a spacecraft into orbit, you have to remove it."for our own safety and the safety of spacecraft and astronauts, we need to protect our orbit."

CTOnews.com learned that the European Space Agency estimates that there are currently more than 130 million pieces of debris in space, including 36500 fragments larger than 4 inches and about 1 million fragments between 0.4 and 4 inches in size, most of which are less than 0.4 inches.

Aschbacher points out that even the smallest debris can cause significant damage to other aircraft in orbit; debris may fly around the earth faster than bullets.