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The Climate Question: Is space travel a problem for the climate?

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11/04/2022 GMT

Is space travel a problem for the climate?

BBC World Service - The Climate Question, Is space travel a problem for the climate?

More rockets are being launched than ever before.

The space industry is experiencing rapid growth, but what's the cost to the climate?

As more countries launch more rockets into orbit for commercial and scientific reasons, the space industry is experiencing rapid growth. 

It’s on the verge of an even greater increase as space tourism takes off.  The International Space Station is now open to tourists and private companies have developed rockets that can be reused – all meaning more launches into space. 

But rocket exhausts contain particles that can affect the climate. What are the potential impacts and is it time to apply the brakes to the new space race?

Presenters Jordan Dunbar and Phoebe Keane are joined by:

D Raghunanadan, director at the Delhi Science eForum
Eloise Marais, associate professor of physical geography at University College London
Stephen Freeland, emeritus professor of international law at Western Sydney University. 

Producer: Darin Graham
Researcher: Lizzie Frisby
Reporter: Mike Killian
Series producer: Alex Lewis
Sound engineer: Neil Churchill
Editor: Emma Rippon

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