NASA tracks around 20,000 pieces of debris orbiting Earth. The garbage humans leave in space cause problems for space exploration, satellites, and communication. One group of scientists hopes to clean up the junk and make this planet safer for everyone.

Concepts

outer space, satellites

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Discuss other ways to clean up space junk in the future
• Debate the role multiple countries should play in this process

Classroom Considerations

• Try sharing the video without showing the comments as they are open to the public

• This video is hosted on YouTube

Pros

• Offers closed captioning for the hearing impaired
• Connects pupils to current ongoing research about a problem that is only getting worse
• Ties into environmental science as well as astronomy

Cons

• None

Common Core

SL.9-10.2 SL.11-12.2 RST.9-10.4 RST.11-12.4