We think of outer space as pretty empty, but that's not the case around planet Earth. There are millions of pieces of man-made debris floating around. This debris causes potential problems for astronauts, satellites, and other important pieces of equipment circling Earth. This fast-paced webcast will look at what's out there and how NASA keeps an eye on it.
Educator Resource:
Lesson Plan - TaterNauts: Testing Spacesuits for Impact Resistance
Data Collection Sheet
Each white dot in this image represents an object in orbit around the Earth. Note the ring which represents objects in geostationary orbit such as many communications satellites. Due to their large distance from Earth, they are much more susceptible to damage from solar particles. The swarm of objects around Earth includes objects such as the International Space Station and the Hubble Space Telescope. They are much better protected due to their proximity to the Earth's magnetic field.