In the vastness of space, there is a growing problem that threatens Earth's missions and infrastructure: space debris. To meet this challenge, Stijn Lemmens, An engineer in this field, he has just been hired by the European Space Agency (ESA).
Space was once considered an unlimited resource, exploited without regard to the end of a spacecraft’s life. Today, more than 11,500 satellites and 35,000 pieces of debris are monitored to reduce the risk of collisions. Space debris poses a risk not only to ongoing space missions, but also to terrestrial infrastructure, such as communication and navigation satellites, which are essential to many aspects of our daily lives. Stijn Lemmens and his team are on a mission to find collision prevention systems and secure re-entry plans.
The European Space Agency has also updated its data. Guidelines Regarding the end of life of satellites, it now recommends that they re-enter the atmosphere within five years after their operations end, compared to 25 years previously.
The role of artificial intelligence
artificial intelligence plays a key role In managing this problem, ESA is exploring applications for predicting and preventing impacts, making automated avoidance decisions and managing the complexity of data related to thousands of objects in orbit.
Space Data Center Installation Project
Meanwhile, the European Union is studying the possibility of creating Data Center In space. According to Wall Street JournalThis project is called Going upled by Thales Alenia Spacecould be economically viable and reduce the carbon footprint of server centers on Earth. If realized, this initiative could generate a return on investment of several billion euros by 2050. These space data centers would be powered by solar energy outside the Earth’s atmosphere, contributing to the European Union’s ambition to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Stijn Lemmens and his team will then have to assess the longevity and long-term sustainability of this new infrastructure.
sources: MIT Technology Review / ESA: AI Challenge to Prevent Collisions in Space
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“Music guru. Incurable web practitioner. Thinker. Lifelong zombie junkie. Tv buff. Typical organizer. Evil beer scholar.”
– ESA hires 'space debris engineer'
The European Space Agency is working to integrate artificial intelligence to prevent accidents in orbit, by automating the management of space debris monitoring. AI that could work thanks to the installation of data centers in space.