New research says space junk has begun to pollute the earth's upper atmosphere

CTOnews.com, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, metals in space junk may poison the upper atmosphere.

The study points out that the materials used to make rockets and satellites contain rare metals, which burn and evaporate after re-entering the atmosphere, leaving toxic rare metals behind.

Daniel Zikzo said: "We have found man-made materials in the outer layer of the atmosphere, and if we further infiltrate into the stratosphere (the stable region of the atmosphere), it is bound to have a negative impact on human beings."

The problem of space junk pollution is becoming increasingly prominent. NASA and other space agencies have tried to clean up space junk and plan to further advance the project in future deep space missions.

CTOnews.com attaches a link to the paper here, which can be read in depth by interested users.