Patches of the moon to become spacecraft graveyards, say researchers

As number of lunar satellites soars, sites will be marked out where defunct hardware can be crash-landed

Patches of the moon are destined to become spacecraft graveyards where dead lunar satellites and other defunct hardware can be crashed into the ground, far away from sites of cultural and scientific importance, researchers say.

The number of satellites circling the moon is set to soar in the next two decades as space agencies and private companies build moon bases and dabble with mining operations and constructing scientific instruments on the barren terrain.

The surge in activity will be supported by constellations of lunar satellites for positioning, navigation and communications. But when the satellites run out of fuel, operators have few options other than steering them into the ground, where they will be smashed to pieces.

“These satellites will have to be crash-landed on the moon, so it will potentially become a rubbish site,” said Dr Fionagh Thomson, a senior research fellow at the University of Durham, who convened an expert panel on the issue at the Space-Comm meeting in Glasgow in December.