Over the decades, humankind achieved multiple milestones. One of which is in the field of Space. With hundreds of satellites, rockets, and spaceships being launched for various missions, the impossible became possible. However, with such missions come drawbacks. One such drawback is space junk or debris.

The public has their opinions about space junk. Many believe that humans have begun to pollute the space beyond our world too. Thus, Real Research — the online survey app, launched a survey seeking the public opinion on the space junk that recently crashed into the Moon. Here are the results.

Highlights:

  • 56.21% believe the key cause of space junk is Rocket shards
  • 38.78% say Russia produces the most space junk
  • 55.49% say the best way to clean up space junk is to launch cleaner satellites

Survey Respondents on Where the Space Junk Is Likely To Come From

The survey starts by questioning respondents’ awareness about the recent rocket debris that crashed into the moon. To this, the majority said ‘yes’, while 20.46% are not aware.

Where-the-space-junk-could-possibly-have-come-from
Figure 1: Where the space junk could possibly have come from

Furthermore, the survey asked respondents where they think the space junk is most likely to come from. A majority of 46.33% voted ‘a leftover from China’s Change 5-T1 robotic lunar mission 2014’.

Whereas, 14.84% voted ‘the upper stage of Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched in 2015’. Meanwhile, 9.36% say ‘part of a previous satellite model that continues to orbit the Earth and Moon’. Finally, 5.03% said ‘some fragments naturally created from asteroids and comets’.

Rocket Shards Are Likely the Cause for Space Junk

Furthermore, the survey asked respondents what they believe the cause of the hunk of space junk crashed into moon would be. To which, the majority (56.21%) suggested ‘Rocket shards’ and 19.50% said  ‘leftovers and explosions of derelict satellites’.

cause-of-space-junk-crash
Figure 2: Respondents on the likely cause of space junk crash

Moreover, 9.36% suggest ‘it occurs every time when launching objects to the orbit’. Likewise, 8.77%, say ‘small celestial bodies come closer to the planet and collide itself’ and 4.73% say ‘pieces from the astronaut’s tool bag that slipped away’.

Additionally, the survey asks, which country produces the most space junk? To this, a majority of 38.78% said Russia, 22.23% say the USA, and 12.07% say China. Furthermore, 6.65% say India, 2.65% said the UK, 2.64% say France, and 1.82% say Germany. Lastly, 1.63% chose Japan and 1.59% chose Italy.

The Best Methods To Clean up Space Junk

Further on, the survey asks respondents what they feel are the best methods to clean the space junk. In response, the majority (55.49%) suggest launching space cleaner satellites. Meanwhile, 13.42% say ‘collect junk with a spacecraft equipped with a robotic arm and re-renter the atmosphere’.

best-way-to-clean-up-space-junk
Figure 3: Respondents suggest the best way to clean up space junk

A further 8.42% say ‘manufacture to self-destruct when the lifespan of the satellite is over’. Whereas 7.02% say ‘fire nets to collect junk’. Additionally, 4.45% chose ‘shoot lasers from satellites to de-orbit junk’ and 3.10% suggest burning up the junk using high heat.

To conclude, the survey asks respondents what they think about space junk. On this, 68.90% say ‘collect costs to handle the space junk in the order of the countries with the most satellites’. Lastly, 29.83% suggest ‘Aerospace institutions in each country work together to solve this problem since space belongs to everyone’. 

Methodology

 
Survey TitleSurvey on a Hunk of Space Junk Crashed into Moon
DurationMarch 11 – March 18, 2022
Number of Participants50,000
DemographicsMales and females, aged 21 to 99
Participating Countries Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, China (Hong Kong) China (Macao), China (Taiwan), Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Greanada, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Malaysia, Maldives, Maluritania, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar [Burma], Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zimbabwe.