Context:

There are over 160 million pieces of human-made space debris. Despite this, plans are underway to launch over 10,000 new satellites in the coming years. There are no legally binding regulations for space debris management due to a lack of global consensus. The current state of affairs is rapidly heading towards the scenario known as Kessler Syndrome wherein the cascading of collisions in the orbit would effectively destroy all functional satellites and completely block access to space. However, the public doesn’t understand the danger because space debris is not visible from Earth.

Objective:

To rally humankind against this problem.

Idea:

Space Trash Signs — the first constellations made from space debris. An AI model was used to scan debris data to identify ten new constellations, each one representing a different impact of space pollution. For example: The

Broken Compass signifies the loss of navigation services; The Lost Harvest, visualized as a dying plant, stands for the loss of environmental data; The End of Discovery, in the shape of a stop sign, represents the end of space exploration. 

Insight:

Since the beginning of time, humans have looked up to the sky for meaning, and this act led to the formation of constellations as a way of understanding stars. Expanding on this insight, space debris was turned into constellations, making the data understandable for people all over the world.

Design:

Styled like star-based constellations, each sign is made of line segments joined by geometric shapes that represent the debris source. Inspired by space monitoring, the bounding boxes from the object detection process were retained. All objects are made of point clouds to resemble the inevitable fragmentation of debris. The typeface KMR Apparat was rendered with p5js to create Constellation type. 

Scale & Placement:

Space Trash Signs were brought to life through a web-based virtual observatory, integration into AR apps, and an immersive planetarium experience. The campaign was promoted through contextual placements in apps and websites that would be affected by space pollution, for example: apps for delivery, weather, financial services, and more.

Results:

With over 300 million media impressions and presence in 700 planetariums, Space Trash Signs increased visibility for the ESA Zero Debris Charter in time for the critical UN meeting on space pollution in spring 2024. Space Trash Signs were recognized by the global astronomical society Astronomers Without Borders, while gaining widespread support from sustainable aerospace actors including the European Space Agency, Astroscale from Japan & UK, OKAPI: Orbits from Germany, Dark from France, and Digantara from India.