The U.S. Space Command recently released a proposal aimed at reducing the “junk” orbiting the Earth in space. Space junk might be a piece of metal that broke off from an orbiting satellite. Or it could be a whole satellite that is no longer powered on or controlled by the organization that launched it. If other countries and businesses agree to follow the U.S. proposal, outer space could become much safer and cleaner. Lloyd Austin is the U.S. Secretary of Defense. He approved the proposal, known as “Tenets of Responsible Behavior in Space,” in early March. It is not a legal document; it is a five-point list of so-called “best practices.” One of the points reads: “avoid operating…in a way that may harmfully interfere with the function of (another) space object.” Another is “operate space objects through end-of-life disposal in ways that limit…long-lived debris.” The other points relate to avoiding collisions, or crashes, between space objects, not interfering with an organization’s ability to control a space device and communicating ahead of time about a possible collision. The main concern is that there are too many old objects in space that are no longer used. Those objects may get in the way of objects that are useful. Government space agencies and private businesses are working to create some kind of order, especially in the part of space that is called low Earth orbit. That is where a number of internet satellites launched by Elon Musk’s company SpaceX are currently active. Amazon is also planning to launch satellites into that area.