With debris turned into constellations, Space Trash Signs wants you to think about space pollution

When was the last time you thought about space pollution? Ever since 1957, when the first artificial satellite was launched into space, every journey has resulted in a massive amount of debris that now envelopes the Earth. To help you picture just how much trash we might be swimming in, Munich-based creative agency Serviceplan Innovation, alongside Moby Digg and Eat, Sleep + Design, have put together a digital campaign titled Space Trash Signs. Head over to the website, and you’ll see a slowly rotating globe – our humble planet – shrouded in a blanket of pixels, each of which is, you guessed it, trash floating in space.

“We live in the new Space Age. In the recent past, there has been a major boom in space launches. From the launch of thousands of satellites to space tourism, it may all seem very exciting, but it comes at the cost of pollution,” Copywriter Shruthi Subramanian tells us. Human-made debris left to bob in space could have great consequences on life on Earth – from threatening to affect our navigation services to impacting satellite internet. “Despite this, space pollution is an invisible problem and only debated in a closed community. We wanted to visualise this problem, simplify it, and make it relatable. Since time immemorial, humanity has looked up to the night skies for meaning, and so the process became clear – highlighting space debris by visualising it among the stars.”

The project required elaborate research, which the team then turned into digestible nuggets of information in the form of ten constellations made from space debris data provided by Privateer, “reflecting the reality of the night sky,” adds Art Director Rohil Borole. “We dove deep into understanding how debris is formed, how the pieces are tracked, their motion, reflective properties, and of course, the sheer amount of it.” The research unearthed some telling and troubling details, such as the fact that the first-ever artificial satellite was launched in 1957, but the first debris removal mission is only slated for 2026. The team decided to condense all of this data into editorial chunks on the website, which also provides specific information about each of the constellations made of space trash, including the projected cost of removing the debris.

On the website, you ‘travel’ through space in swift motion as you move from one constellation to the other. The name and shape of each constellation nod to a significant consequence of space pollution. For example, the icon for ‘The Broken Compass’ that talks about the loss of navigation is a shattered direction arrow used in navigation apps, while the one for ‘Rest In Space,’ which explores the deathly impact of space trash on the life of astronauts, is an abstract symbol of a human figure pierced by a piece of debris. Designed to take you down rabbit holes, each anchor point in the constellation holds further information about the debris.

To set all the text, the team chose Apparat, “as it draws inspiration from typefaces of the early ’70s that were optimised for TV broadcasting,” shares Borole. “Apparat’s tabular figures feature was exactly what we needed for layouts containing lists and tables, especially for such a data-heavy campaign.” Meanwhile, the wordmark was coloured in a bright orange to evoke the feeling of danger.

“With Space Trash Signs, we want to increase public engagement and awareness, especially now with The United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) session coming up. There are still no legally binding international treaties to enforce space clean-up,” reflects Subramanian. “This was once the case with ocean debris, and we can’t let history repeat itself. We must protect our global commons. Space Trash Signs is all about joining forces and effecting policy change.”

Serviceplan Innovation

Space Trash Signs