A Ton Of Space Junk Returns To Earth Weekly As Rocket Launches Rise: Report

The amount of space junk falling back to Earth is increasing as more rockets and satellites are launched into orbit. While most debris burns up in the atmosphere or falls into the ocean, large objects weighing around a metric ton now re-enter Earth's atmosphere about once a week, reported The New York Times.According to Mariusz Slonina, who heads space situational awareness operations for the Polish Space Agency, around one metric ton of space debris re-enters Earth's atmosphere every week."The re-entries happen each and every day," he said. The US Space Force issued alerts for nearly 820 objects re-entering the atmosphere in 2025, compared to 110 alerts a decade earlier, reflecting the rapid increase in space activity.  One such incident occurred near Mukuku village in Kenya, where a large metal ring from a rocket crashed into farmland.