Speaker
Description
This presentation showcases a method for determining the high-altitude atmospheric injection of anthropogenic objects that reenter from Earth's orbit and estimating the chemical species generated during reentry. Uncertainties are quantified.
Reentry data from ESA's Space Environment Report is used to analyze annual trends, showing a record-breaking launch and reentry mass in 2024 of over 2200 tonnes and 490 tonnes, respectively. The accumulation of chemical compounds of anthropogenic origin in the mesosphere is compared against natural levels. It is concluded that the amount of aluminum that reentered the atmosphere originated from satellites and upper stages of launch vehicles surpassed, for the first time in 2024 and with a level of confidence of 95 %, that of meteoroids.
The methodology presented can be applied to estimate the atmospheric burden of individual chemical species originated during reentry. The approach to uncertainty quantification can be used to highlight current knowledge gaps.
