Point Nemo’s ‘Space Cemetery:’ Here’s How International Space Station's Grave Would Look Like

The International Space Station (ISS) will say its final goodbyes in less than a decade. NASA is projected to crash ISS into an ocean area known as Point Nemo, or the "space cemetery."

Point Nemo is the most isolated location on Earth, kilometers from any mainland, and the ideal location for space organizations to bury obsolete spacecraft.

According to PopSci, the ISS' retirement will be multi-part, unlike previous satellites that burn up into small fragments after re-entering the planet's atmosphere.

Space Cemetery: NASA Explains Why It Will Bury ISS To Point Nemo

There are several reasons why NASA and other space organizations regard Point Nemo to be the final resting place for retired spacecraft, in addition to its sheer remoteness from the nearest human settlements.

One of these reasons is because there isn't much life that can thrive there. The seas near Point Nemo, according to Inverse, are part of the South Pacific Gyre, which is a strong circulation that prevents nutrient-rich waters from getting into it.

This essentially implies that the seas in this space graveyard are "dead," meaning that there is no risk of the trash contaminating the waters and killing any marine life. The most feasible solution that humanity has ever devised is to dump the International Space Station's remnants there.

The wreck will not function as a habitat for marine life after the ISS is laid to rest there, as there isn't much there, to begin with. It's merely a frigid, deep mausoleum where the world's most famous space station will be laid to rest for the last time.

What is Point Nemo?

Point Nemo is a Pacific island situated 3,000 miles off the coast of New Zealand and 2,000 miles north of Antarctica. According to CNN, it is so far away from humanity that the nearest humans are astronauts on the International Space Station who pass over it at regular intervals.

The "Space Cemetery" gets its name from the fact that it is where many decommissioned spacecraft, such as satellites and outdated space stations, are "buried." Since 1971, over 263 pieces of space debris have been discarded here, some of which are famous artifacts of space exploration history.

While the location isn't very large, measuring around two and a half miles across, or particularly noteworthy, it is extremely isolated, with the nearest continent 1,677 miles distant. This remoteness is what makes it ideal since it lowers the possibility of any satellite, or part of a satellite, colliding with a populated region.

NASA's Skylab (which crashed from orbit on July 11th, 1979) and the Soviet Union's Mir space station are among those buried at Point Nemo. You won't find enormous portions of them sitting peacefully on the bottom since they generally burned up and dissolved upon re-entry. It's more likely that tiny bits are strewn throughout a large region.

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