The European Space Agency, ESA, says that space junk must be removed from Earth's orbits in order to prevent possible collisions with satellites. If these collisions were to occur, it could knock out cellular service and GPS networks aside from the high price it would take to repair.
"Within a few decades, there are going to be collisions among large objects that will create fragments that can do further damage," said Heiner Klinkrad, head of ESA's Space Debris Office as quoted by Reuters.
"The only way to keep this from happening is to go up there and remove them. The longer you wait, the more difficult and far more expensive it is going to be."
The ESA says that five to 10 large fragments need to be removed each year, out of the estimated 29,000 objects larger than 4 inches orbiting the Earth, to reduce the risk of collisions. Space debris is compiled of various things, including components of rocket launchers, inactive satellites and fragments from past collisions.
Klinkrad said that researchers are working on different ways to remove the space junk and include methods like utilizing propulsion packages, nets and even harpoons to get the job done. Funding for any space junk removal mission would have to come from the 20 states that are members of ESA including, France, Germany, Italy and Britain.