The environmental impact of space transportation that is quantifiable amounts to a tiny proportion of the total global transport industry, but in some areas – such as the upper atmosphere – there are unknowns. As space activities evolve, and the number of rockets and missions launched each year grows, it is important that we understand this sector’s environmental impact on the planet and beyond.

Rockets are our only way to reach space, to place into orbit essential hardware, to explore our Solar System and beyond, and to seek out past and present signs of life in the Universe to answer the age-old question if we are unique – and if not, why? Rockets propel us to understand the nature and origin of the Universe and are at present our only way to look down at our Pale Blue Dot from the vastness of space and take the pulse of our changing planet.