Does Space Debris Ever Break Down Naturally?

Remember when Elon Musk launched a car into space? It’s not just peacefully drifting through a vacuum–it’s hurtling around the sun at 63,592 mph, being bombarded by solar radiation. It might be in pieces.

But, not the same pieces it would be in if it was down here on Earth. The environment of space breaks it down differently. And the space debris a little closer to us, all the stuff that we humans have sent into space and just left there to orbit us? The unusual environment of space means it too breaks down and degrades differently than it would down here on earth. But… how long does it take to break down? Does it all break down? And how is that car looking right about now…


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