The Vatican asks the United Nations to eliminate the risks of satellite collisions in space

With more and more satellites orbiting the Earth, measures need to be taken to prevent collisions in space that give rise to dangerous "space debris," a see representative warned the United Nations.

Archbishop Gabriele Caccia said on Friday that preventive measures are needed within a "globally agreed framework" to protect space due to the "massive increase in use and dependence" on satellites.

"Despite the infinite external dimension of the space environment, the region just above us is becoming relatively crowded and subject to increasing commercial activity," Caccia, apostolic nuncio and permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, said on October 16. .

"For example, so many satellites are being launched today to provide Internet access that astronomers are discovering that these are likely to obscure the study of the stars," the archbishop noted.

The representative of the Holy See said that it was in the clear interest of all countries to establish "the so-called 'rules of the road' to eliminate the risks of satellite collisions".

There have been about 2.200 satellites launched into Earth's orbit since 1957. Collisions between these satellites have created debris. There are tens of thousands of pieces of "space junk" larger than four inches currently in orbit and millions more smaller.

The BBC recently reported that two pieces of space junk - a defunct Russian satellite and a discarded part of a Chinese rocket segment - narrowly avoided the collision.

"Satellites have become integrally connected to life here on Earth, assisting navigation, supporting global communications, helping predict the weather, including tracking hurricanes and typhoons, and monitoring the global environment," Caccia said.

"The loss of satellites providing global positioning services, for example, would have a dramatically negative impact on human life."

The International Astronautical Federation said in a statement last week that "substantial debris clearance efforts (i.e. operations) have been almost non-existent to date," adding that this was partly due to the fact that "the urgency to the debris remediation was not expressed in a multinational forum “.

Monsignor Caccia told UN member states: “Preventing the generation of space debris is not just about the peaceful uses of space. It also has to understand the equally problematic space debris left behind by military activities ”.

He said the United Nations must work to preserve the "universal character of outer space, increasing their common interests in it for the benefit of every person regardless of earthly nationality."

Recently a series of satellites orbiting the Earth was launched by SpaceX, a private company owned by Elon Musk, rather than by individual states. The company has 400 to 500 satellites in orbit with the goal of creating a network of 12.000 satellites.

The US government launched an initiative earlier this year with the Executive Order "Encourage International Support for the Recovery and Use of Space Resources," which aims to work to mine the moon for its resources.

The apostolic nuncio proposed that international organizations or consortia can launch satellites, rather than individual countries or companies, and that activities that exploit resources in space can be limited to these multilateral organizations.

Caccia concluded by quoting Pope Francis' recent speech to the UN General Assembly: “It is our duty to rethink the future of our common home and our common project. A complex task awaits us, which requires a frank and coherent dialogue aimed at strengthening multilateralism and cooperation between states. Let's make good use of this institution to transform the challenge that awaits us into an opportunity to build together “.