The objective of the Landmark ClearSpace-1 mission will be to demonstrate the complete value chain of active debris removal by removing an ESA-owned object (a VESPA upper part orbiting at an altitude of 500 km) by 2025.

The motivation for this project is that today there are more than 3000 failed satellites orbiting Earth and less than 2000 'live' ones... These uncontrollable objects present risks of explosions or collisions with other satellites. Such events increase the amount of debris dramatically, in turn increasing the risk of further collisions. With the number of satellites launched every year growing rapidly, the population of human-made debris orbiting Earth has exploded over the last ten years. The next big challenge is keeping space clean to ensure sustainable growth in the future.