Measurement of a lithium plume from the uncontrolled re-entry of Falcon 9 rocket
5 days ago
- #atmospheric pollution
- #lidar detection
- #space debris
- A 10-fold enhancement of lithium atoms was detected at 96 km altitude by a resonance lidar in Kühlungsborn, Germany, approximately 20 hours after the uncontrolled re-entry of a Falcon 9 upper stage.
- Backwards trajectories traced air masses to the Falcon 9 re-entry path at 100 km altitude, west of Ireland, using the UA-ICON general circulation model.
- This study presents the first measurement of upper-atmospheric pollution from space debris re-entry and the first observational evidence that ablation of space debris can be detected by ground-based lidar.
- The analysis of geomagnetic conditions, atmospheric dynamics, and ionospheric measurements supports the claim that the enhancement was not of natural origin.
- The findings demonstrate that identifying pollutants and tracing them to their sources is achievable, with significant implications for monitoring and mitigating space emissions in the atmosphere.
- The increasing frequency of satellite and rocket re-entries is an emerging societal and scientific concern, with potential environmental consequences for Earth’s atmosphere.
- The upper atmosphere is now subject to the injection of exotic atomic and molecular species not typically found in large quantities in natural meteoric input.
- Projections suggest that within the next decades, the mass flux from artificial satellite re-entries could exceed 40% of the natural meteoroid influx.
- The compositional differences between natural meteoroids and re-entering spacecraft include engineered materials such as aluminium alloys, composite structures, and rare earth elements.
- The potential influence of these metals on the formation and radiative properties of stratospheric and mesospheric aerosols represents a critical knowledge gap.