Nobody knows exactly how many items of space debris currently orbit the Earth — but estimates run into the hundreds of thousands. The larger objects have to be carefully monitored: a collision with floating debris could spell disaster for space flights, and it’s best not to dwell on the consequences of a super-power mistaking flying junk for a hostile missile. Though the Nasa scientist J C Liou has admitted there is “no viable solution” to clearing it all up, most space junk harmlessly re-enters Earth’s atmosphere within weeks. However, some items, including the following, remain either in orbit or further afield.

BRIT FLOP

1. With a musical call sign composed by Blur and artwork by Damien Hirst, the Beagle 2 was set to add a splash of Cool Britannia to Mars after hitching a ride on the European Space Agency’s (Esa) Mars Express orbiter in June 2003. It was due to enter Mars’s atmosphere in December that year, slowing its descent with parachutes before inflating its airbags and bouncing to a standstill. But after leaving the orbiter, Beagle 2 was never heard from again; its whereabouts are not known.

CHINESE BREAKAWAY

2. Orbiting the Earth became a riskier proposition this year, thanks to China. On January 11, it demonstrated the effectiveness of its anti-satellite weaponry by blowing the Fengyun-1C satellite to smithereens. Nasa has catalogued more than 1,900 separate pieces of debris of golf-ball size or larger from the explosion, mostly at the break-up altitude of about 850 kilometres above Earth, making the incident, by Nasa’s own estimation, “by far the worst satellite fragmentation of the space age”. It is believed that the move was intended to prompt the US to negotiate a ban on space weapons.

EURO TRASH

3. Last September, Esa’s Smart-1 lunar probe was crash-landed onto the moon, having beamed back information and pictures until moments before impact. “Smart-1 will now rest in peace,” observed Esa’s Professor Bernard Foing. More accurately, it will rest in pieces: the explosion was estimated to have left a 3-metre by 10-metre crater, scattering debris over 80 square kilometres.

THE FINAL FRONTIER

4. Nasa’s Pioneer 10 launched in 1972 and transmitted ground-breaking shots of Jupiter the following year. It became the first man-made object to leave the solar system, and was last detected in 2003, more than 12 billion miles away and drifting toward the red star Aldebaran, which, all being well, it should reach in 2m years.

COLD AFFRONT

5. These days Nasa tries to avoid littering space — but it made an exception for a 1,400lb refrigeration tank that it ejected from the International Space Station in July, claiming it was too big to fit onto returning space shuttles. The fridge is due to return to Earth in spring; Nasa says it will issue warnings if there is a chance that it might hit someone.

BLAST FROM THE PAST

6. First spotted in 2002, J002E3 was first thought to be an asteroid that had been sucked into Earth’s orbit. But then astronomers measured the spectrum of light reflected off it from the sun, finding it consistent with the paint Nasa had used on the Apollo rockets. Now believed to be a part of Apollo 12 known as the S-IVB, it left our orbit in 2003, but may return in around 30 years.

RIDING HIGH

7. The three moon buggies once driven by astronauts on three Apollo missions (15, 16 and 17) are still parked on the great junkyard in the sky. Despite the relatively uncluttered landscape, two of the electric vehicles lost parts of their fenders after minor prangs; the drivers of the Apollo 17 buggy inventively patched it up using maps, duct tape and a pair of clamps.

PLAYING AROUND

8. Alan Shepard made sporting history during his 1971 moon walk when, before boarding Apollo 14, he produced a makeshift golf club and two golf balls. Unable to use both hands due to his cumbersome spacesuit, his one-handed swings eventually sent the balls flying. He boasted that the second shot went “miles and miles”, though Nasa’s calculation of 366 yards brought him back down to earth.

THE LONG HAUL

9. Vanguard 1 is the oldest piece of space junk in orbit. Launched by Nasa in 1958, the tiny satellite provided data to reveal that the Earth is slightly pear-shaped — but its transmitter ceased to be operational in 1964, and it has been silent ever since. Not that it will be returning to Earth just yet: according to Nasa it has an expected orbital lifetime of 400 years.

PRAISE BE

10. A steel plaque remains near to where Apollo 11, the first manned mission to the moon, landed on July 20, 1969. It bears the inscription: “We came in peace for all mankind.” A former Nasa employee later revealed that this almost became a PR disaster of jihadic proportions when President Nixon ordered the words “under God” be inserted after “peace”. The order was quietly ignored.