In recent years, there has been increasing talk about climate change and the impact of carbon monoxide on the environment. Air travel alone produces 915 million tons of carbon dioxide a year, while globally humans produce 43 trillion tons of it. Along with the development of technology, space travel is becoming more frequent. If airplanes leave so much carbon print, then how does space travel affect our environment? What does space travel do to the ozone layer?
Space traveling damages the ozone layer. When the rocket is launched, it releases chlorine fuel into the stratosphere. The Amount of pollution is minimal compared to the other sources of Chlorine from human activities. Chlorine fuel mixes with oxygen to create chlorine oxides which are dangerous to ozone. Increasing the number of space launches will lead to a slight increase to damage to the ozone layer.
When the expansion of ozone holes was observed in 1980, the countries of the world decided to unite and prevent further expansion of ozone holes. The Montreal Protocol came into force in 1989. Its goal is to protect the ozone layer by eliminating the production of substances known to harm it.
In 2020, a decrease in ozone holes was observed, but also an increase in the use of chemical ingredients that can lead to re-damage to the ozone layer. At the time of concluding this protocol, it was not even thought that one day there would be the possibility of space travel as a commercial service.
Does space travel damage the ozone layer?
The ozone layer is in the atmosphere at an altitude of 10 to 50 km. It contains most of the atmospheric ozone. The ozone layer is essential for life on Earth because it prevents harmful ultraviolet rays from reaching the Earth’s surface and damaging life in the ecosystem.
The impact of rockets on the environment or the ozone layer has never been observed in the past. Their influence was really small and bypassed the public’s attention.
Innovations such as reusable rockets, thousands of satellites, surveillance, Internet servers, and space tourism are greatly changing the situation. In recent years, rockets have been launched more often, and the rockets themselves are much larger and need more fuel. As the number of rockets increases, so does emissions.
Just taking off a rocket uses huge amounts of fuel. In addition to the fuel, black carbon and aluminum oxide that the rocket launches releases depletes the upper layer of ozone, which prevents ultraviolet rays from reaching the earth’s surface.
Black carbon makes up a large percentage of rocket emissions. In 2018, black carbon-producing rockets produced approximately 225 tons of black carbon particles into the stratosphere. This amount is comparable to black carbon produced by air transport itself globally. In 2018, 114 rockets were launched, until their number increases by approximately 8% per year.
Rocket launching damaging the underlying atmosphere by reducing the intensity of solar flux entering the to of the troposphere which will warm the lower atmosphere. Some scientists previously thought that rocket launches could contribute to the cooling of the Earth’s lower atmosphere and surface. Recent research, however, shows that alumina particles heat the planet by absorbing longwave radiation.
Scientists have set out to investigate the impact of spaceflight on our environment and atmosphere and have come to worrying conclusions. Current space flights have an impact on the atmosphere, but it is not nearly as dangerous as the one that space tourism could create.
The day is approaching when tourist flights into space will become a reality. According to scientists, this would mean that about 1,000 rockets will be launched annually. Martin Ross Angeles, the engineer at the Aerospace Corp., argues that the number of launches would be significantly more disastrous than all existing air traffic. The composition and concentration of ozone will be significantly disrupted under the influence of so many launches.
The impact that rockets leave on the environment could result in regulation of launch activity, but before that, it is certainly necessary to gather more knowledge on this topic. Such regulation would be highly undesirable for stakeholders, but its value would certainly be significant for the environment.
How much air pollution is produced by rockets?
After the start of the space age, the number of rockets launched dropped dramatically to just 42 launches in 2005. However, that number then began to rise sharply.
Many companies and governments around the world are planning to launch and maintain thousands of satellites into space. If that figure is reached, the number of launches in the US alone will double and about 200 launches are expected annually by 2025.
By 2030, that could mean about 400 launches per year. The impact that 400 launches a year would produce on the Earth’s atmosphere is still unknown. However, it is predicted that this would mean 800 tons of black carbon and 5000 tons of aluminum emissions per year.
Climate change has led the world community to take steps to reduce the amount of CO2 and thus protect our environment as well as the air. Trees absorb CO2 by converting it to oxygen.
However, when we take into account the deforestation, the Co2 we produce on an annual basis and the increase in the number of rocket launches, they could indeed be brought about. This could lead to air pollution, especially in the higher layers of the atmosphere and endanger the already damaged ecosystem.
Space hardware returning to Earth could also leave a significant impact on the atmosphere. The hardware re-enters the atmosphere, heats up, melts, and then vaporizing back into the dust. The impact of such combustion has not yet been investigated and its impact on air quality as well as human health is unknown.
How does space travel affect the environment?
Most pollution occurs on the surface of the earth whether it is land, sea or lower parts of the atmosphere. The rockets, however, emit particles directly into the stratosphere.
Rocket emissions mostly take the form of carbon dioxide and water vapor, two of the best-known greenhouse gases. The impact of space travel on the environment is only part of the problem when it comes to CO2 emissions and global warming.
Space travel could affect the environment, but in order to protect the environment, it is necessary to make changes in all areas of life.
The United Nations established the Committee on the Peaceful Uses Of Outer Space back in 1959. In one of the articles, Committee determines that all member States should take care that their exploration of space, the Moon and other astronomical objects do not cause harmful pollution.
It is further stated that they must not produce adverse changes in the Earth’s environment that could be caused by extraterrestrial particles. Even then, people were aware that rocket propulsion leads to the release of carbon dioxide that destroys ozone.
To prevent this, work has recently been done on the development of an ion drive that will prevent a negative impact on ozone, and thus on the environment.
Wherever a man comes, so does pollution. Rocket launching does damage not only on Earth but also in space. Unusable satellites are not removed from space and for now, there are no regulations that would force countries to do so.
International agreements deal with the topic of international waste, but it is not strictly defined what it is or how to deal with it further.
Montreal Protocol, which protects the ozone layer, does not address issues such as pollution by rockets or even aircraft. Rocket emissions deplete the ozone layer and cause climate forcing but they are not regulated due to the small number of launching.
Firms that produce and launch rockets do not have regulations that would limit them in this area, and the impact on the environment has been insufficiently researched. What would increase in the number of space travel mean, for now, we can not determine with certainty. Scientific predictions should certainly direct the international community to pay attention to this potential problem.
Is space travel possible without damage to the environment?
Space travel without any damage seems impossible. It is possible, however, to reduce the damage that space travel does to the environment.
For this to be possible, it is necessary to stop using solid rocket boosters which are very bad for the environment as they emit toxic particles and deplete the ozone layer. Moreover, it is necessary to move away from hypergolic and fossil fuels and start using sustainable fuels for rockets.
Lately, there has been a move towards the use of reusable rockets that could truly reduce damage to the environment. Using reusable rockets reduces manufacturing emissions which are one of the major pollutants in the world.
To do that, it is necessary to first collect data on the impact of rocket launches on the environment before it is too late. Regulating rocket launches that match scientific knowledge would allow the space travel industry to follow a path that would avoid environmental damage.
The sooner verified information is found, the sooner we will come up with strategies that will allow us to explore the universe without destroying life on the Earth.
Sources:
https://www.atag.org/facts-figures.html
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-much-air-pollution-is-produced-by-rockets/
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2011JD017341