October 2022
Normally at Geographical, we keep our feet firmly on the ground, or at least, we don’t stray far from the Earth’s atmosphere. But what’s going on in space today has significant consequences for life down on Earth. Modern satellites are vital for monitoring our planet’s ever-more fragile ecosystems and for aiding climate-change projections. Ironically however, the very satellites we rely on are now at risk – from themselves. As more and more are launched into space, the chance of them hitting each other, or hitting older bits of ‘space junk’ increases. Catherine Early investigates the space junk phenomenon.
Elsewhere in the magazine we find out what’s being done to save Africa’s last remaining penguins, we visit a rugged corner of Tajikistan, where trophy hunting is funding a huge rewilding effort, and we find out how the people of Mosul are working hard to restore cultural institutions.
