Ibadan, 6 June 2024. – More than 40 companies, research centers and international organizations have signed the Zero Debris Charter at the Berlin International Airshow (ILA), confirming their dedication to the long-term sustainability of human activities in space. The Zero Debris Charter, which ESA unveiled at the ESA Space Summit in Seville in November 2023, is an initiative towards future missions becoming debris-neutral in space by 2030.
Together with ESA, twelve European countries recently signed the Charter at the ESA/EU Space Council in Brussels. Furthermore, over 100 organizations worldwide have registered their intent to sign and join the collaborative effort in the coming months – dozens of them signing the Zero Debris Charter at the Berlin Airshow.
Speaking on the feat, Josef Aschbacher, ESA Director General, explained, “It is critical to protect the future of our most valuable and crucial space assets by keeping Earth’s orbits clear from debris. By jointly signing the Charter, the diverse entities demonstrate global leadership in space debris mitigation and remediation.” Aschbacher also added, “The European space sector leads by example and by taking this step collectively, we gain a crucial momentum towards achieving Zero Debris by 2030.”
Likewise, Holger Krag, ESA Head of Space Safety, said, “In recent years, the number of debris in space has spiralled, increasing the risk of damage to space assets. Today, as a united community, we are sending a strong signal that the space sector is ready to act. The Zero Debris community is committed to getting hands-on with debris mitigation standards and technologies to make the clean and sustainable use of space a reality.”
