article_snippet: This has resulted in 43 new pieces of debris in Earth orbit .
article_snippet: Since the first object, Sputnik 1, was launched into space 53 years ago, mankind has created a swarm of hundreds of thousands of items of debris.
article_snippet: The rubbish circling the planet comes from old rockets, abandoned satellites and missile shrapnel.
article_snippet: There are around 22,000 objects in orbit that are big enough for officials on the ground to track and hundreds of thousands more smaller ones that could do damage to human-carrying spaceships and valuable satellites.
article_snippet: One major source of debris in the past was a Chinese anti-satellite missile test in 2007 that left an estimated 150,000 pieces of junk in the atmosphere.
article_snippet: Some tentative solutions to clear up space junk have been suggested - such as using nets to scoop some up - but nothing has been tried so far.
article_snippet: There are around 22,000 objects in orbit that are big enough for officials on the ground to track (illustration shown) and hundreds of thousands more smaller ones that could do damage to human-carrying spaceships and valuable satellites.
article_snippet: Dr Eugene Stansbery, Program Manager of Nasa’s Orbital Debris Program Office, added:
article_snippet: Depending on what size you go down to, there are many thousands to millions of debris in orbit.
highlights_snippet: This has resulted in 43 new pieces of debris in Earth orbit .
  