The changing climate of the Earth not only affects the oceans of the planet, wildlife and agriculture, but also affects the space around it. A new research examines the effect of greenhouse gases on the upper atmosphere of the Earth and argues that it will become shrinking over time and will not be able to hold as many satellites as it is now.

A team of scientists from MIT, using the simulations of carbon emissions over time, foresees a shocking decline in the satellite carrying capacity of the low Earth orbit. As the highest atmosphere shrinks, the friction in this layer will decrease and the risk of collision with the space debris of the satellites in this area will increase, as we will be deprived of this layer that burns and melts space debris. So in this atmosphere layer, there will be no room for many satellites as before.

According to a study published in Nature Sustainability, the team predicts that the carrying capacity of the most popular regions by 2100 due to the effects of greenhouse gases may decrease by 50 %to 66 %.

The atmosphere will not be able to grind space garbage

This layer, called the thermosphere, is the place where most of the international space station and most of the other satellites return in the Earth orbit. Currently, more than 10,000 satellites are drifting in the orbit of the world. With increasing emissions, the possibility of space vehicles to hit the garbage in this region will increase, so even more space debris will be formed. As they continue to return without disappearing, this region will turn into a risk zone. Therefore, in the near future, it will not be possible to deploy satellite to this region, and the risk of damage will rise when passing through this area.