Ecologies of saturation. Artistic research: Space Debris :: Waste Constellations

The 1957 launch of Sputnik, humanity’s first satellite, inaugurated a new era in the conquest of outer space, but it also marked the beginning of a new type of pollution invisible to our eyes: space pollution. Since then, our planet has been surrounded by numerous satellites tasked with studying our climate, predicting catastrophes, helping us answer important scientific questions for human evolution and keeping us continuously connected and monitored. The useful life of these satellites is threatened by the saturation of objects surrounding the Earth. Accidental collisions between objects orbiting in outer space can produce clouds of debris moving at high speed, posing a collision risk to future space missions. The greater the planetary connectivity, the more space pollution increases. This saturation scenario connects us with conceptual premises, such as artificial environment, ecology without nature, or hyperobject: anchor points from various authors related to the Anthropocene, which will be examined in this text and which will serve as a theoretical pillar for the artistic proposal that we present.

The artistic research, entitled Space Space Debris :: Waste Constellations, analyses and evidences the enormous swarm of space debris revolving around the Earth in its four main orbits. Based on data extracted from scientific sources, it identifies the top eleven powers responsible for the exponential accumulation of space debris, classifies and categorizes the data, and makes visible how all this constellation of space debris is distributed in the Cosmos through an immersive and interactive sculptural installation.