We’ve really made a mess of space. Recently released by the European Space Agency, these images show the trackable objects in orbit round Earth (apart from the Moon, obviously).

Since Sputnik in 1957 and the start of this year we’ve put around 6,000 satellites into orbit, according to the agency. Around 800 are currently operational, which leaves a lot of junk.

“Space debris comprise the ever-increasing amount of inactive space hardware in orbit around the Earth as well as fragments of spacecraft that have broken up, exploded or otherwise become abandoned,” says ESA. “About 50 percent of all trackable objects are due to in-orbit explosion events (about 200) or collision events (less than 10).”

More images below the fold

Objects in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) – view over the North Pole

Debris objects in low-Earth orbit (LEO)

Trackable objects in orbit around Earth, detail

Images: ESA