by Claudine Zap Space. The so-called "final frontier." So many pioneers in the last half-century of exploration. So much' garbage. Literally. A new invention could get the clean-up of space junk started. Turns out we're as messy in space as we are on our own planet . And with no interstellar trash pick up, it's only getting worse. There are something like 5,500 tons of junk circling the earth. And some experts say that the buildup will continue at a rate of 5% a year .