Over 14,000 pieces of junk are clogging up low Earth orbit, but this number could be reduced by a new invention that involves a satellite using the plasma exhaust of its ion engine to knock dangerous chunks of space junk into the atmosphere where they can burn up safely.
The huge amounts of space junk in orbit, ranging from nuts and bolts to rocket fairings and dead satellites, pose a serious hazard to satellites and the International Space Station, which has to regularly take evasive action to dodge space shrapnel, much of which is moving faster than a bullet.
