International Space Station could be fitted with huge lasers to shoot down space junk
Space debris poses a huge risk to the satellites that are in space and power much of communication on Earth
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
Scientists want to fit huge lasers to the International Space Station (ISS) and use them to blast away the estimated 3,000 tons of space debris that flies around the Earth and could be putting it in danger.
The plan, proposed by researchers from the Riken Institute in Japan, would see the Extreme Universe Space Observatory (EUSO) telescope that is currently fitted to the ISS converted into a tool for spotting space debris. When that spots a piece of dangerous debris, a laser would be used to fire at bits of space junk until it goes out of orbit and burns up as it goes back towards the Earth.
The team behind the laser plan hope that they can test it out with a small telescope and laser on board the ISS. If that works, scientists hope to put a full version on the ISS.
The team hope that the final version will use a three-meter telescope and a laser built out of 10,000 fibres. That would be able to shoot down space junk from about 100 kilometres.
The team say that if the laser installed on the ISS worked, a devoted one could be sent out into space, towards the altitudes where most of the dangerous debris is.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments