We declutter closets and drawers. We delete old apps. We sift through the photos on our phones and bin them. We declutter our living spaces in hopes that lighter shelves will bring lighter minds. But here’s a question we rarely ask: If we declutter our homes, our clothes, and our phones, do we also need to declutter outer space? According to a New Scientist article released on 3 December 2025, and current research, our skies are fast becoming crowded; so crowded that the stuff we’re sending into orbit is interfering with the tools we use to understand the Universe. Nearly 14,000 satellites circle Earth today. Almost 10,500 (75%) of them were launched in the past five years. Most belong to mega-constellations like Elon Musk’s Starlink that aims to cover the planet with global internet coverage. But that number, astonishing as it is, is merely the prelude. Filings with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission show proposals for up to 560,000 satellites to be launched by the end of the 2030s. Half a million! If that many toothbrushes were left in your bathroom, you’d notice. If that many files clogged your phone, it would crash. And yet these objects, orbiting at thousands of kilometres per hour above us, in our skies, are largely invisible to us. What will happen? What will crash? A new study by NASA Ames Research Centre researcher Alejandro Borlaff and colleagues simulated how these planned satellites would affect some of our space observatories, such as the Hubble Space Telescope, China’s upcoming Xuntian telescope, and newer missions like ARRAKHIS and SPHEREx. Their findings are that if all the proposed satellites are launched by the 2030s, one in three Hubble images could be marred by bright satellite streaks. For telescopes with wider fields of view, like the Xuntian, a single image could contain up to 90 trails, spoiling the image it was designed to take. This isn’t a far-off hypothetical. Even with current satellite numbers, 4% of Hubble’s photos already have satellite interference. This means that already our quest to connect the planet may be hindering our ability to understand the cosmos. We often think of space as endless, untouched, “out there.” But that’s not the case. The zone where most satellites are, called Low-Earth Orbit, isn’t infinite. It’s more like a small attic we keep stuffing things into because we don’t want to reorganize the garage. The consequences ripple back down to us: astronomers lose clean data; long range telescopes photograph neon scratches instead of distant galaxies; and fundamental research into dark matter, early galaxies, and cosmic evolution, becomes more difficult and more expensive to conduct. Beyond that: there’s the risk of collisions, real life crashes, debris, and cascading space junk that could threaten astronauts and long-term space exploration. Scientists believe that the actual number of satellites launched will likely reach 50,000 to 100,000, not the proposed 560,000. But that’s still a huge number, although manageable with thoughtful regulations and smarter satellite design. We don’t need to stop innovating. We simply need to ask: How do we keep our skies safe, functional, and beautiful? How do we keep space from becoming the attic of humanity or the top drawer in need of decluttering? Decluttering isn’t about austerity. It’s the difference between 10 memorable photos or 10,000 useless screenshots. It’s the difference between space as a shared human heritage and space as an overcrowded, unmanaged storage unit. To declutter outer space means launching satellites responsibly; devising international agreements about orbital space usage; designing spacecraft that de-orbit safely; and funding research into debris cleanup and sustainable orbit management. Let me communicate that again. Sustainable orbit management. Just as we realize that cluttered homes affect our mental wellbeing, it’s time to understand that cluttered skies affect our scientific wellbeing, and our future. It would be a shame if we cluttered space beyond recognition.
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Saturday, 6 December 2025
Decluttering space – outer space
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