Space debris is forcing satellites to dodge more often — costing us vital science. 'Things will get worse before they get better'

Space debris is forcing satellites to dodge more often — costing us vital science. 'Things will get worse before they get better'

Satellites forced to avoid space debris appear to have lost some of their data due to the movement. They've also lost precious fuel.

The satellite that has been tracking Earth’s wildfires for 24 years is running out of fuel to dodge debris — and when it finally can’t, the climate record it spent two decades building goes with it

On the morning of 8 January 2025, a red dot appeared on NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System. It was the first sign of what would become one of California’s most destructive wildfires, ultimately claiming a dozen lives and burning thousands of homes in the Palisades. Overhead, NASA’s Aqua satellite was already passing, scanning the surface with infrared sensors and beaming data down to ground stations in Alaska and Svalbard. Ac…