A laser could be mounted on the International Space Station and used to shoot down pieces of space debris in Earth orbit , says a new paper . The system would use a telescope already mounted on the station to find and target pieces of debris up to 62 miles ( 100km ) away . Powerful pulses from the laser would then push space junk into Earth ’ s atmosphere , where it would burn up . Tokyo researchers have proposed a laser system to attach to the ISS . It would be used to shoot down pieces of debris in Earth orbit ( artist 's illustration shown ) . The system would have a range of 62 miles ( 100km ) and could target things less than 0.4 inches ( 1cm ) in size . The paper , by researchers at the Riken research institute in Tokyo , was published in Acta Astronautica . Their system would use the Extreme Universe Space Observatory ’ s ( EUSO ) super-wide-field telescope on Japan ’ s Kibo Experiment Module on the ISS . The laser , meanwhile , use bundles of optical fibres to produce powerful laser pulses - capable of both high power and high frequency , although exact figures were not given . 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 . The rubbish circling the planet comes from old rockets , abandoned satellites and missile shrapnel . There are around 22,000 objects in orbit that are big enough for officials on the ground to track and countless more smaller ones that could do damage to human-carrying spaceships and valuable satellites . 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 . Accidental events have also contributed to the problem . In 2009 for instance there was a major crash between a U.S. communications satellite and a defunct Russian military probe over Siberia . Combining these two instruments would create a system that could deorbit space debris down to the size of 0.4 inches ( one centimetre ) . The impact of the laser beam on debris would create a force that reduced its velocity , causing it to fall into Earth ’ s atmosphere and burn up . The group plans to deploy a small proof-of-concept experiment on the ISS , with a small , eight-inch ( 20-centimetre ) version of the EUSO telescope and a laser with 100 fibres . ‘ If that goes well , we plan to install a full-scale version on the ISS , incorporating a three-meter [ 10ft ] telescope and a laser with 10,000 fibres , giving it the ability to deorbit debris with a range of approximately 100 kilometers [ 62 miles ] , ’ said lead researcher Dr Toshikazu Ebisuzaki . Looking further into the future , the team said they could have a ‘ free-flyer ’ mission not attached to ISS in another orbit to shoot down debris . For example , such a system could be deployed in polar orbit at an altitude of about 500 miles ( 800km ) , ‘ where the greatest concentration of debris is found , ’ according to Dr Ebisuzaki . Without going into specifics , the team says their proposal could remove ‘ most ’ of the centimetre-sized debris in Earth orbit within five years of operation . MailOnline has asked the researchers to explain how often the laser would fire , and what its maximum capacity in terms of debris-size to deorbit would be . The technology bears some similarities to the Death Star - shown - used to devastating effect in the original Star Wars trilogy . Without going into specifics , the team says their proposal could remove ‘ most ’ of the centimetre-sized debris in Earth orbit within five years of operation . The paper , by researchers at the Riken research institute in Tokyo , was published in Acta Astronautica . Their system would use the Extreme Universe Space Observatory ’ s ( EUSO ) super-wide-field telescope on Japan ’ s Kibo Experiment Module on the ISS ( shown ) The EUSO telescope was originally planned to detect ultraviolet light from air showers produced by ultra-high energy cosmic rays . But the researchers realised they could put it to another use - the removal of space debris . The fibre-powered laser , meanwhile , was originally developed to power particle accelerators - but again another use for it was found . Space debris , which is continuously accumulating as a result of human space activities , consists of artificial objects orbiting the earth . The number of objects nearly doubled from 2000 to 2014 and they have become a major obstacle to space development . The total mass of space debris is calculated to be about 3,000 tons . It consists of derelict satellites , rocket bodies and parts , and small fragments produced by collisions between debris . ‘ We may finally have a way to stop the headache of rapidly growing space debris that endangers space activities , ’ added Dr Ebisuzaki .
Tokyo researchers have proposed a laser system to attach to the ISS . It would be used to shoot down pieces of debris in Earth orbit . Would have a range of 100km and could target things less than 1cm in size . The team says their proposal could remove 'most ' of the debris in orbit .