HECK
OUTTHIS
OOK!MARCH 2019 • NAT GEO KIDS (^9)
CC
OO
BO
BY JULIE BEER AND MICHELLE HARRIS
500,
17 , 500 MPH
500 MILES
9
Pieces of debris the sizeof
a marble or larger
Speed that objects travel through space. At this high
speed, even the tiniest piece of junk can be a
serious hazard. Space shuttle windows have been
damaged by pieces as small as a fleck of paint!
Distance most spacejunk floats
above Earth’s surface
Number of telescopes the United States Air Force
uses to track objects floating in space
MARCELCLEMENS / SHUTTERSTOCK (EARTH); SOMCHAI SOM / SHUTTERSTOCK (MOON); PISAGOR / DREAMSTIME
(GLOVES); AFRICA STUDIO / SHUTTERSTOCK (SOFTBALL); © PICSTUDIO / DREAMSTIME (MAGNIFYING GLASS); YOBRO10 / DREAMSTIME (PAINT CAN); ELISABETH BURRELL / DREAMSTIME (MARBLE); JEFEATHERSTON / DREAMSTIME (TELESCOPE)