A piece of space junk the size of a school bus is barreling straight toward the moon

John Crassidis, SUNY Distinguished Professor and Samuel P. Capen Chair Professor in the UB Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, spoke to NPR about a school bus-sized piece of a rocket that’s hurtling toward the moon.

While the impending collision isn’t cause for too much concern, Crassidis says it's possible that within 50 years, we get to the point where there's so much debris, we won't be able to launch any more satellites.

"When objects start to collide with other objects, that's going to cause more debris ... and you get a cascading effect," he said, citing what's known as Kessler’s Syndrome. "That's a big concern."

Listen to the story here. The report was carried by NPR stations nationwide including Alaska Public Media and Houston Public Media.