Researchers at the University of Southern California have claimed that internet satellite networks like Elon Musk's Starlink can destroy the Earth's ozone layer. The research published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters claims that SpaceX's Starlink releases large amounts of aluminum oxide gas into the atmosphere which can destroy the ozone layer.
It is worth mentioning that the ozone layer is very important for our survival. It absorbs harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun, exposure to which can cause skin cancer and even hamper crop yields and food production.
“Only in recent years have people started to think that this could become a problem. We were one of the first teams to look at what the implications of these facts might be,” co-author and University of Southern California astronautics researcher Joseph Wang said in a statement.
Internet satellites in low Earth orbit have a lifespan of about five years. There are currently more than 8,000 internet satellites in low Earth orbit, about 6,000 of which belong to Starlink. These satellites are designed to burn up in the atmosphere when their service life is over, researchers said. As a result, they can spew more than 1,000 tons of aluminum oxide annually, an increase of 646 percent compared to natural levels. Aluminum oxide destroys ozone by reacting destructively with chlorine.
“During re-entry, satellites burn up at the end of their service life, producing aluminum oxides as the main byproduct. These are known catalysts for chlorine activation, which destroys ozone in the stratosphere,” the researchers wrote.
“We found that the destruction of a typical 250-kg satellite could produce about 30 kg of aluminium oxide nanoparticles, which could persist in the atmosphere for decades,” he said.
The study further found that the presence of oxides increased nearly eightfold between 2016 and 2022 and could increase even more with current satellite launch plans.
According to IndependentSpaceX alone is allowed to launch up to 42,000 Starlink satellites, while Amazon and other tech giants also plan to launch thousands of satellites in the coming years.
The rapid increase in the number of satellites has also raised concerns about space debris, which could cause collisions and damage other satellites.
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