He added, however, that international space agencies need to discuss the amount of disused equipment being left in Earth's orbit amid fears space junk could reach a "critical mass" where damaging collisions with active satellites and space craft become inevitable.
The craft will explode on its descent meaning any material reaching the ground could be spread over an area measuring 200km long and 20km wide, and many pieces will be so small they would be hard to spot on the ground.
British experts based at RAF Fylingdales in North Yorkshire will monitor the craft as it descends but even as it begins its last orbit, 90 minutes before it arrives, they will only be able to predict its landing spot with an uncertainty of 4,000km.
航天专家日前表示,“福布斯-土壤”火星探测器发射失败后,报废的航天器碎片将于周日坠入地球。
在去年11月8日发射后不久,这个面包车大小的火星探测器就与技术人员失去了联系,进入环绕地球的低轨运行。
这个探测器原本是用来探测火卫一的,火卫一是火星的两颗卫星之一。但是探测器升空后一直处于地球轨道,变轨的努力也失败了,导致计划搁浅。
探测器大多数的碎片都会在再次进入大气层时燃烧殆尽,但其总重约200公斤的20到30个小型残骸将坠入地球。
通常情况下,探测器再次进入大气层时,约有20%的太空垃圾可能会到达地球,但是“福布斯-土壤”带来的太空垃圾可能会更少,因为这个探测器携带了大量未用燃料,燃料会在大气层中燃烧或消散。
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