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ESA Announces Plans to Clean Space Junk

The International Space Station releases a nanosatellite. (Reuters)
The International Space Station releases a nanosatellite. (Reuters)
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ESA Announces Plans to Clean Space Junk

The International Space Station releases a nanosatellite. (Reuters)
The International Space Station releases a nanosatellite. (Reuters)

In collaboration with a commercial consortium, the European Space Agency (ESA) plans to launch a joint mission aimed at disposing space debris left by past space missions, announced the concerned ministers on Monday.

The first-of-its-kind mission, dubbed "ClearSpace 1" is set to launch in 2025, in collaboration with a consortium led by a Swiss startup.

Preps for the project are scheduled in March 2020. The mission consists of sending a four-arm probe into space to grab an old rocket that was launched by ESA, and drag it toward low Earth orbit to burn up in the atmosphere.

More spacecraft are expected to launch in the future to grab larger space junk.

Concerns about collisions in space are mounting, amid predictions of a rapid increase in abandoned materials, when space travel becomes commercial. There are also concerns about large pieces of space junk that could hit the Earth.

Holger Krag, head of Esa's space debris office, said space junk can collide at speeds of up to 40,000 km per hour.

The European Space Agency has 22 member states, most of which are members of the European Union, along with Switzerland and Norway.

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Elderly Man Dies as Wildfires Rage in Türkiye, Forcing Evacuations and Road Closures

A drone view shows burnt trees and destroyed houses in the aftermath of a wildfire in Seferihisar near Izmir, Türkiye, June 30, 2025. REUTERS/Ufuk Erdem
A drone view shows burnt trees and destroyed houses in the aftermath of a wildfire in Seferihisar near Izmir, Türkiye, June 30, 2025. REUTERS/Ufuk Erdem
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Elderly Man Dies as Wildfires Rage in Türkiye, Forcing Evacuations and Road Closures

A drone view shows burnt trees and destroyed houses in the aftermath of a wildfire in Seferihisar near Izmir, Türkiye, June 30, 2025. REUTERS/Ufuk Erdem
A drone view shows burnt trees and destroyed houses in the aftermath of a wildfire in Seferihisar near Izmir, Türkiye, June 30, 2025. REUTERS/Ufuk Erdem

Firefighters on Thursday discovered the body of an elderly man after extinguishing a wildfire near a village in western Türkiye, while crews elsewhere continued to battle another blaze that closed a highway and forced some residents to be evacuated from their homes.

The 81-year-old-man died from smoke inhalation in a village near the town of Odemis, Suleyman Elban, the governor for Izmir province, said. His death marks the first fatality in a series of wildfires across the country that have forced thousands to flee.

A total of 37 other villagers were safely evacuated by security forces and emergency teams, Elban said, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, hundreds of firefighters, supported by aircraft and helicopters, were deployed to extinguish a wildfire blazing in the Aegean coastal town of Cesme, a tourism hotspot some 192 kilometers (120 miles) west of Odemis.

That wildfire, which began on Wednesday, forced the evacuation of three neighborhoods and closed roads. Television footage of the blaze showed flames burning through dried vegetation on both sides of a road.

Elban said the wildfires in Izmir province are believed to have been sparked by electrical lines, which ignited dry grass and spread rapidly due to wind.

In the past week, Türkiye has battled hundreds of fires across the country that were fueled by fierce winds, scorching heat and low humidity.

The fires — most of which were brought under control — damaged or destroyed around 200 homes, the majority in İzmir, the Interior Ministry said. Dozens of barns were also destroyed.

As firefighting crews battled the blazes, Türkiye's parliament adopted the country’s first climate law late Wednesday, in a move aimed at reaching net-zero emissions by 2053.

The legislation includes measures to establish a carbon market board to oversee efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emission. It also imposes fines on companies that fail to comply with the requirements.

The U.K.-based environmental advocacy group ClientEarth on Thursday welcomed the law’s symbolic importance but said it has several shortcomings.

“The law lacks ambitious, science-based targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the medium-term and offers no commitment to phasing out fossil fuels,” the group said.