A new preprint paper from researchers at NASA’s Ames Research Center reports that satellite trails are significantly degrading data from the SPHEREx space telescope. The study analyzes SPHEREx observations collected between May and September of last year and finds that 73.3% of the telescope’s images contain at least one artificial satellite trail. The results indicate that a large majority of captured images are affected by human-made objects moving through the telescope’s field of view, producing contamination in the scientific data. Both outlets describe the finding as part of a broader issue facing space-based astronomy, where increasing satellite deployment raises the likelihood of trails in observations. The paper also suggests the problem is expected to worsen as more artificial satellites are launched and placed into orbit. The study is currently available as an arXiv preprint, and the reported percentages relate specifically to the May–September observation period examined in the analysis.