Experts from the company LeoLabs, which is engaged in satellite tracking, sound the alarm about the dangerous amount of space debris accumulating in Earth’s orbit. According to their statements, the situation is close to critical and will inevitably lead to disaster.

In an interview with the publication Forbes Darren McKnight, LeoLabs’ senior technical lead, described the issue as a “ticking time bomb” waiting to happen.

Because the world is surrounded by nearly 30,000 objects the size of footballs and moving at incredibly high speeds, McKnight and his colleagues are searching for solutions to prevent the tragedy. According to them, any piece of space debris larger than a few millimeters could threaten the lives of the crew of the Moscow International Space Station, and such objects are absolutely not capable of tracking LeoLab’s devices.

Researchers believe that three major space powers (the United States, Russia, and China) are responsible for the contamination of Earth’s orbit, so they need to start removing space debris.