Chemical Classification of Space Debris

Abstract  Space debris, here referring to all non‐operating orbital objects, has steadily increased in number so that it has become a potential barrier to the exploration of space. The ever‐increasing number of space debris pieces in space has created an increasingly threatening hazard to all on‐the‐orbit spacecraft, and all future space exploration activities have to be designed and operated with respect to the increasing threat posed by space debris. Generally, space debris is classified as large, medium and small debris pieces based on their sizes. The large debris piece is easily catalogued, but medium to small debris pieces are very difficult to track and also quite different in damage mechanisms from the large ones. In this paper, a scheme of chemical classification of space debris is developed. In our scheme, the first‐order classification is employed to divide space debris into two groups: natural micrometeoroids and artificial space debris. The second‐order classification is based on their chemical patterns and compositions. The natural micrometeoroids are further divided into three types, namely mafic, metal and phyllosilicate micrometeorites, while the artificial space debris is divided into seven types, which are polymers, non‐metal debris, metals and their alloys, oxides, sulphides and their analogs, halides and carbides. Of the latter seven types, some can also be further divided into several sub‐types. Chemical classification of space debris is very useful for the study of the chemical damage mechanism of small debris pieces, and also is of great significance in constraining the origin and source of space debris and assessing their impact on spacecraft and human space activities.