The discovery of 500,000 tons of space treasures led China to swiftly seize the opportunity and successfully develop the technology to extract these resources.
According to reports from China’s space research organization, there are currently about 500,000 tons of space debris floating in Earth’s orbit. This debris primarily consists of remnants from space launches and satellite fragments.
Satellites are typically costly, made of specialized materials, and recyclable. Consequently, space debris is considered a valuable resource, and among these fragments lie some invaluable “treasures.”
Obtaining some of this space debris and bringing it back to Earth would hold substantial value. Currently, the international community views these space debris pieces as potential resources, but recovering them is a challenging and complex task that requires advanced equipment.
For instance, space debris moves at an extremely high speed while orbiting in outer space, reaching speeds of up to 7 km/s. Designing special equipment to slow down these fragments significantly increases the cost.
Moreover, space debris can remain in orbit for a very long time, especially fragments from satellites in higher orbits, which can persist for hundreds, or even thousands of years, providing ample time for research into breakthrough technologies.
Many countries have invested significant funds into researching and developing the technology needed to collect this vast treasure trove. Currently, China’s achievements in these technologies are highly advanced, with some of their technologies being world leaders.
China has successfully brought space debris back to Earth. Specifically, China has developed an autonomous robot system that directly connects with Earth-based control centers when operating in outer space. This robot can perform tasks at a distance with high precision, including capturing debris from outer space, bringing it to the control center, and ultimately returning it to Earth.
To date, only China has succeeded in bringing back small space debris. However, China is further developing this technology to fully exploit the vast space resources.