​​The federal government is quietly shutting down vital scientific research into the pollution caused by satellites and rockets—just as we begin to understand how dangerous it really is.

Scientists at NOAA recently discovered that vaporized metals from spacecraft are building up in the stratosphere—the very layer of our atmosphere that shields us from harmful ultraviolet rays and helps regulate the planet’s temperature. These pollutants, including aluminum, black carbon, and chlorine gases, may be damaging the ozone layer, warming the climate, and disrupting the delicate cloud systems that act like Earth’s sunscreen.

If current trends continue, experts warn that these emissions could raise stratospheric temperatures by 2°C and degrade the ozone layer across the Northern Hemisphere—putting millions at greater risk of UV exposure, skin cancer, crop damage, and accelerated climate change.

This research could have helped develop regulations to reduce pollution from companies like SpaceX and Amazon.

But instead of responding with urgency, the Trump administration is gutting the NOAA research programs that were set to study and monitor this crisis—programs with bipartisan support, now being cut under the excuse of eliminating “woke” science.

We can’t protect what we don’t understand. We’re calling on Congress and the Trump administration to immediately reinstate NOAA’s atmospheric research programs and protect them from political and corporate interference. The future of our stratosphere—and our climate—may depend on it.

Drawing: Getty Images, theguardian.com