NASA intends to continue operating the International Space Station (ISS) until the end of 2030, after which the ISS would crash into a remote part of the Pacific Ocean known as Point Nemo, according to plans. recently published about its future.
Opened in 2000, the space lab orbited 227 nautical miles (about 420 kilometers) above Earth with more than 200 astronauts from 19 different countries enjoying time aboard — representing an ongoing human presence in space.
NASA said commercially operated space platforms would replace the ISS as a place for scientific collaboration and research.
“The private sector is technically and financially capable of developing and operating commercial low-Earth orbit destinations with the assistance of NASA. We look forward to sharing our lessons learned and experience from operations with the private sector to help them develop safe, reliable and cost-effective destinations in space,” said Phil McAlister, director of commercial space at NASA Headquarters, in an announcement.
space cemetery
In the International Space Station’s Transition Report, NASA said the plan was for the ISS to fall to Earth in an area known as the “South Pacific Oceanic Uninhabited Area” — also known as Point Nemo. The estimated budget in the report assumes that deorbit would take place in January 2031.
Named after the underwater sailor in Jules Verne’s novel “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea”, Point Nemo is an ocean location farthest from shore and has been a watery grave for many other spacecraft.
The area is approximately 3,000 miles (about 4,828 kilometers) off the east coast of New Zealand and 2,000 miles (about 3,219 kilometers) north of Antarctica and it is estimated that space-traveling nations such as the US, Russia, Japan and Europeans have sunk more than 263 pieces of space debris since 1971.
The report shows that the ISS would perform precise maneuvers that would ensure “safe atmospheric entry”.
third decade
The ISS will not rest on its prestige for the next eight years. NASA said goals for the next decade include using the ISS as an “analog for a transit mission to Mars,” according to the report.
“The International Space Station is entering its third and most productive decade as an innovative science platform in microgravity,” Robyn Gates, director of the International Space Station at NASA Headquarters, said in the statement.
“This third decade is one of the results, building on our successful global partnership to verify human exploration and research technologies to support deep space exploration, continue the return of medical and environmental benefits to humanity, and blaze a trail in preparation for a commercial future in low Earth orbit.”
“We hope to maximize these space station returns through 2030, as we plan to transition to commercial space destinations that follow.”
The space station has been home to many scientific breakthroughs. The first item to be 3D printed on the space station took place in 2014. NASA astronaut Kate Rubins sequenced DNA in space for the first time in 2016. And the fifth state of matter, called the Bose-Einstein condensate, was produced. in space by NASA’s Cold Atom Lab at the station in 2018.
Astronauts learned to grow lettuce and greens in space. The first space-grown salad was sampled by astronauts in 2015. Now, they are even growing radishes and peppers in season. This could one day be used to help astronauts grow their own food on deep space missions.
China, with its astronauts long since excluded from the ISS, launched the first module from its space station last year. While not as large as the ISS, the Chinese space station is expected to be fully operational by the end of this year.
Russia has said it will leave the ISS project in 2025 and plans to build its own space station that can launch in 2030.
Source: CNN Brasil
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