Space Travel Environmental Benefits (or lack of.........) Let’s face the harsh facts – space travel may not be the most environmentally friendly thing. Although it serves as an exciting opportunity for humans to explore the unknown and to stretch our knowledge and capability, it’s hard to do the best for our environment while doing so. There is no doubt that space travel will have some negative effects on our environment. Space tourism has been described as an unnecessary waste of resources by a small group of people and companies (DigitalTrends, 2019). Space launches can leave a very large carbon footprint in the earth due to solid rocket fuels burning. However, it is worthy to note that a lot of rockets are propelled by liquid hydrogen fuel, therefor producing ‘clean’ water vapour exhaust. Due to their infrequency, rocket launches impact on our environment is currently far less impactful than aviation’s impact. One other environmental issue associated with space travel is ‘space junk’. This is where satellites and other related objects get left in space, therefor polluting the air (ScienceFocus, 2020). Taking a look at Space X’s Falcon Heavy rocket launch, the space enthusiastic company set out to make a reusable rocket, therefor being efficient with resources. On the other hand, this doesn’t change the fact that most rockets are 95% fuel. This means a huge amount of fuel and carbon content is released into the atmosphere (SmithsonianMagazine, 2018). Making space travel environmentally friendly is quite the challenge for companies today. It remains a question if space travel will ever evolve into a more environmentally considerate way. Don't forget to like us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! References Used:
DigitalTrends, 2019. Space tourism is coming, and it's going to wreak havoc on Earth's atmosphere. [Online] Available at: https://www.digitaltrends.com/dtdesign/environmental-costs-of-space-tourism/ [Accessed 12 March 2020]. ScienceFocus, 2020. Are space launches bad for the environment?. [Online] Available at: https://www.sciencefocus.com/space/are-space-launches-bad-for-the-environment/ [Accessed 12 March 2020]. SmithsonianMagazine, 2018. Is SpaceX Being Environmentally Responsible?. [Online] Available at: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/spacex-environmentally-responsible-180968098/ [Accessed 12 March 2020].
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