Many people enjoy watching space programs launch their latest projects into the sky. With the majority of space still unexplored, each venture beyond the Earth feels like it has the potential for new discoveries. But the reality is satellites wind up failing all the time.
And it never really makes the news what actually happens with all of these expeditions once they are no longer viable for further research. You might assume that there is some protocol to retrieve them and bring them back to Earth.
However, in actuality, a ton of satellites are simply abandoned to burn up in our atmosphere, which scientists fear is doing long-term harm to the Earth’s climate.
