Do astronauts get hit by space debris?
Astronauts don’t get hurt by Space debris because they spend most of their time in the International Space station (ISS).
Does that mean they can be hit by Space debris when they are outside of ISS during Spacewalk while performing any experiment or activity?
Well, Yes, but the crew members, Space organization employees nor the astronauts are stupid enough to space walk while any debris is around the ISS.
Space organizations actively track space debris to prevent collisions with the ISS. The space debris around the earth is more than 1 million bits and pieces (small particles). Space debris of 1cm can pose a serious threat. Space debris of 10cm can shatter a satellite into another thousands pieces.
So there is a pretty good chance of hitting them (ISS), right?
Yes, to tackle this they use a shield called Whipple shield. When space debris hits the wall of the ISS it is actually hitting this shield (sacrificial wall) by which the debris shatters into small pieces.
Whipple shield is made of few layers so that when it faces an impact the debris breaks down into small pieces from every layer it passes on, eventually losing its velocity it creates a cloud of material consisting of shield and debris.
This is how ISS tackles the impact from space debris which are very small and untraceable from the earth. ISS too have sensors to track debris which are placed on the exterior of the International Space Station.
If the size of space debris is large enough to shatter the whole ISS (similar to what we’ve seen in Gravity) then using thrusters they move the space station away from the debris.
With these precautions, Astronauts in the space don’t get hit by the space debris as they spend most of their time in the ISS though the space station is hit by the same.
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