InsideJapan News Network

Japan's space agency has announced it is to deal with potentially dangerous space debris by casting a huge fishing net to catch any rubbish orbiting the earth.

According to the Telegraph, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has teamed up with Nitto Seimo Co in order to tackle the problem of objects floating in space, which often cause damage to space crafts and satellites.

The agency has revealed it will use a net, made of thin metal and stretching for several kilometres, to collect any space rubbish.

The net will be launched using a space craft and once it has been detached from the main shuttle, will be allowed to freely orbit and "sweep" up any waste in its path.

Earlier this week, the newspaper noted that "space junk" includes anything from tools used to repair damaged crafts to pieces of shuttles which have become detached following a collision or accident.

Written by Susan Ballion