– There is a spacecraft graveyard located in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean centered around a point called Point Nemo. This is the final destination for many decommissioned spacecraft.
– Point Nemo is located 1,670 miles away from any land, making it the most remote place on Earth. This isolation makes it ideal for dumping spacecraft after missions end since there is little risk of debris impacting people.
– Since the early 1970s, NASA, ESA, JAXA and Roscosmos have sent over 200 spacecraft to Point Nemo, including parts of space stations like Salyut, Mir and the International Space Station which will be deorbited in 2030.
– The harsh deep ocean conditions around Point Nemo with little nutrients, oxygen, sunlight and cold temperatures help preserve spacecraft remains. Future archaeologists may find intact pieces like large chunks of Mir that survived reentry.
– SpaceX will jettison an unoccupied Dragon capsule trunk to Point Nemo in 2025 after discovering the trunk does not fully burn up during reentry, posing a risk if it lands on inhabited land.
Source: JALOPNIK
