Study says climate change will even make Earth’s orbit a mess

A new study finds that climate change is already causing all sorts of problems on Earth, but soon it will be making a mess in orbit around the planet too. MIT researchers calculate that as global warming continues it may reduce the available space for satellites in low Earth orbit by anywhere from one-third to 82% by the end of the century. That’s because climate change makes the upper atmosphere cooler and less dense. Dead satellites and debris won’t fall to Earth as much, which is nature’s way of cleaning up what humanity launches. So space will become more littered. A new study finds that climate change is already causing all sorts of problems on Earth, but soon it will be making a mess in orbit around the planet too. MIT researchers calculate that as global warming continues it may reduce the available space for satellites in low Earth orbit by anywhere from one-third to 82% by the end of the century. That’s because climate change makes the upper atmosphere cooler and less dense. Dead satellites and debris won’t fall to Earth as much, which is nature’s way of cleaning up what humanity launches. So space will become more littered.  AP Technology and Science