Shocking Visualization Shows Pollution We've Launched Into Space Since The Late '50s

Space. The final frontier. An infinite mass. Man's garbage can. According to Dr. Stuart Grey (who created this visualization), this video represents around 20,000 or so pieces of debris we've launched or left in space since the late 1950s. It started with the Russians launching Sputnik. Then the Americans responded with a number of competitors. Fast forward to 3 years after Sputnik's launch, and there were already 200 items actively in orbit around the world. "Debris" is a bit of a deceptive term as well — it should be noted as some of this "debris" has been proven to be the same size as a typical school bus!

The amount is also growing at an alarming rate. For example, a Chinese space mission in 2007 created 2000 pieces of debris in one launch! It's something that will become an issue we need to resolve if we don't want ships colliding with debris and inhibiting long term space travel. While the video is decent, I highly encourage you to check out his website and his full presentation right here!