THE world’s most remote place has been turned into an eerie graveyard after hundreds of spacecrafts crashed back down to Earth and into the ocean.
Point Nemo is actually so isolated from the rest of civilisation that it’s closest neighbours are astronauts living in orbit.
Sitting in the middle of the South Pacific and 1,670miles from the nearest piece of land is Point Nemo – dubbed the Oceanic Pole of Inaccessibility.
The closest place to the point is Ducie Island, part of the Pitcairn Islands but this is an almighty 1,400miles further away than the International Space Station (ISS) up above.
This is because the ISS is around 250miles from the ocean meaning the astronauts onboard are actually the closest humans to Point Nemo.
Being so far away from anyone and anything does have one very important perk though.
The spot is ideal for anyone looking to release objects at a dangerously high speed from unimaginable heights safely – much like those up in space.
Given no one is around for miles and miles it has become a dumping ground for lost space shuttle parts and obsolete materials that have been blown off from above.
Because of this it has become known as a space cemetery where unneeded parts go to spend the rest of their days bobbing up and down in the deep blue waters.
Holger Krag, Head of the Space Safety Programme Office at the European Space Agency said: “This is the largest ocean area without any islands. It is just the safest area where the long fall-out zone of debris after a re-entry fits into.”
Between 1971 and 2018, global space mega powers like the US, Russia, Europe and Japan were thought to have crashed more than 263 space related objects into the South Pacific.
This includes the legendary Soviet Mir space station alongside six aircraft from Russia’s Salyut programme and another 140 of their resupply vehicles.
Japan launched six cargo transfer vehicles down to Earth as the European Space Agency followed suit and sent vehicles down themselves.
Since then, the most famous piece of space history to end up in the clutches of the Point Nemo graveyard is part of Elon Musk’s SpaceX capsule rocket named the Dragon.
And what’s even more impressive is that the International Space Station – weighing over 4,000tonnes – is set to be sent down to Point Nemo when it’s time comes in around eight years.
Back in 2001, Russian cosmonauts watched on in delight as the Mir Space Station tumbled down to Earth, blazing through the sky.
Leaving behind a thick smoke trail and the sound of sonic booms and shock waves, the Mir flew past the speed of sound and crashed into the South Pacific just as planned.
All of the objects returning from space need to reach astonishing speeds of 17,500mph to break through the Earth’s barrier and turn into boiling hot fireballs of extreme pressure.
This ended its whopping 1.2billion mile voyage around the world and the world’s first modular space station was literally sent to its death.
The remains were thought to have ended up being scattered across 995miles of the ocean with the largest sitting around the same size as a small car.
The lonely Point Nemo is named after the famous submarine sailor from the famous novel by Jules Verne called Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
Looking into the future
Point Nemo is sat in the most lifeless part of the ocean with the seafloor drowned a staggering 2.5miles below the surface.
Not only is it lifeless because of the lack of humans but also the little sea life exploring it in general.
The waters around Point Nemo lack a lot of natural oxygen needed for marine life because of how deep the waters are.
This combined with the freezing cold temperatures and next to no sunlight make for horror conditions for any life but an ideal spot for spaceship preservation.
These factors drastically decrease the rate of chemical processes such as rusting because of the lack of nutrients in the oceans making for the perfect long term space graveyard.
In 1,000 years, many of the abandoned objects that have explored far and beyond our planet will still be in a good condition meaning they can be rediscovered and examined by scientists.
According to Alice Gorman, associate professor of space archaeology at Flinders University, Australia: “This is something you find with historic shipwrecks – they’re very well preserved under the water.
“It’s when they’re brought to the surface that decay starts to set in.”
Dr. Thomas Hughes is a UK-based scientist and science communicator who makes complex topics accessible to readers. His articles explore breakthroughs in various scientific disciplines, from space exploration to cutting-edge research.
