“The carbon footprint of space missions remains taboo” – Libération

A groundbreaking study on the evolution of the carbon footprint of space missions and observatories reveals a worrying trend, incompatible with the Paris Agreement. CNRS astrophysicist Jürgen Knödlseder, its lead author, calls for a rethink of research in this area.

At a time when space and lunar missions are multiplying, in disregard of the CO2 emissions they generate, Jürgen Knödlseder, CNRS research director at the Institute for Research in Astrophysics and Planetology in Toulouse, is challenging his colleagues on the environmental impact of their practices in a study published at the end of August in the journal Nature Astronomy.

Many projects are flourishing for the Moon. The latest one intends to go there create an animal DNA bank pour “preserve terrestrial biodiversity”. Does this surprise you?

The craze for the Moon is part of a second space conquest with new players (China, Japan, Europe) joining the old ones (United States, Russia) which is causing the carbon footprint of the astronomy sector to explode. Politicians or billionaires have decreed that we must return to the Moon and scientists are clinging to it to carry out research. The latter serve as a guarantee to justify planetary missions with ambitions that are sometimes more geopolitical than scientific. However, at a time of climate crisis