A playful and interactive approach
to design makes STUDIO PSK a
welcome addition to ‘The Challenge’.
Patrick Stevenson-Keating, the
studio’s director, is pictured.DESIGN FOR A CLEAN PLANET
Nº 4Waste Watchers
STUDIO PSK directs universal attention to
the overlooked issue of space debris.Studio PSK proposes the creation of
geostationary satellite ‘moons’ that would
collect space junk above the various
nations responsible for the debris.Why did you focus on outer space rather
than on the Earth? PATRICK STEVENSON-
KEATING: A definite link connects the
ecologies of outer space and the Earth. Some
people even attribute the modern environ-
mental movement to space travel – the ‘pale
blue dot’ image of the Earth as seen from
space was revolutionary in terms of how
we view our planet as a whole. We feel our
obligation to the planet extends beyond
the edge of Earth’s atmosphere to anything
humankind has produced.
What problem do you want to address?
There are currently around 500,000 known
pieces of space debris orbiting the Earth.
The real number probably greatly exceeds
that figure, but we can only track the loca-
tion of a piece that is larger than 5 cm.
How did this situation come about? Salvage
laws don’t apply beyond the Earth’s surface,
and no international agreement targets the
removal of space junk. Incredibly, some
seven countries and agencies are responsible
for generating all this debris.
Is the Earth at risk? The immediate threat
posed by space debris is to telecommunica-
tions systems, which make use of satellites
to monitor some of the most pressing prob-
lems on Earth, from forest fires to oil spills.What might happen in the long term? We
could be trapped on Earth, as an unstop-
pable cascade of colliding debris makes
the atmosphere impenetrable, severely
impacting our ability to learn more about
how human behaviour influences this planet- and about how to find a solution for the
survival of the human race, should we need
to colonize another planet.
How would Studio PSK prevent this from
happening? Research into the behavioural
science behind littering shows that people
are more likely to litter in areas where there
is already rubbish. Conversely, people are
more likely to keep clean areas clear of waste.
We propose the creation of geostationary
satellite ‘moons’ situated above the offending
nations. Large enough to be tracked from
Earth, they would collect space junk.What happens next? It’s impossible to
solve the issue without the cooperation of
the space agencies and countries involved.
As the moons steadily grow over time, they
would become increasingly visible to people
on Earth. Unless addressed, the satellite
moons would become a blemish on the ter-
ritories below, and national stigmatization
would lead to individual accountability. We
hope that this would catalyse governments
to start taking responsibility for what they
put into space and to implement effective
plans for removing or reducing waste when
such satellites are no longer of use. – WG
studiopsk.comTHE CHALLENGE 43