There are more than 50,000 pieces of debris orbiting the Earth and their relatively fast speed is enough to damage the International Space Station (ISS) or a spacecraft, American space agency NASA has said.
In December 2016, a Japanese space agency placed an experimental ¡°space junk¡± collector to pull trash circling above the earth has run into trouble.
Representational image/Playtech
Scientists at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are testing an electrodynamic 'tether' ¡ª created with the help of a fishing net company ¡ª to slow the junk down and bring it into a lower orbit.
The hope was that the clutter ¡ª built up after more than five decades of human space exploration ¡ª would enter the Earth's atmosphere and burn up harmlessly long before it has a chance to crash to the planet.
About 700 metres (2,300 feet) in length, the tether was due to be extended out from a cargo ship launched in December carrying supplies for astronauts at the International Space Station.
But JAXA says it is not sure if the tether, made from thin wires of stainless steel and aluminium, successfully deployed or not.
Representational image/ABC News
JAXA will continue trying to remedy the situation before the cargo ship is expected to reenter the atmosphere on Saturday, the agency added.
The trouble comes just two weeks after JAXA had to abort a mission intended to use a mini-rocket to send a satellite into orbit after the spacecraft stopped sending data to ground control shortly after liftoff.
A pricey ultra-high-tech satellite launched in February last year to search for X-rays emanating from black holes and galaxy clusters but was ultimately abandoned after researchers said contact with it had been lost.
With inputs from AFP
Cover images are for representational purposes only.