27/09/11

Earth is surrounded by garbage.

Sometime in the next few weeks, pieces of a defunct NASA satellite will rain down on an unlucky patch of Earth.

It's not known exactly where and when the space debris will hit home, though the U.S. government will have a better picture of the so-called "debris footprint"—expected to be roughly 805 kilometres long—as the satellite's date with destiny draws near.

By Traci Watson for National Geographic News

For more information, see National Geographic Daily News