Point Nemo: Is Earth’s Loneliest Spot Becoming a Space Junkyard?

Point Nemo: Earth’s Most Remote Place — and a Space Graveyard

I welcome stretches of solitude — a quiet walk in the woods or an hour with a book — but Point Nemo is solitude taken to an extreme. Formally known as the oceanic pole of inaccessibility, Point Nemo (approximately 48°52.6′S, 123°23.6′W) is the spot on Earth farthest from any shore. It sits more than 1,600 miles from the nearest land and is surrounded by a circle of empty ocean larger than 8 million square miles, with depths approaching 13,000 feet.

Why spacecraft end up here

For decades, decommissioned satellites, rocket stages and other space hardware have been steered to reenter the atmosphere over Point Nemo. Since 1971, researchers have recorded more than 260 spacecraft crashing at or near this location, including retired Russian space stations, cargo vehicles from Japan and the European Space Agency, and numerous satellites (California Western International Law Journal, 2018). Steering reentries toward a remote spot reduces the risk of injury or damage to people and infrastructure — but it concentrates debris in one isolated region.

Not just floating junk: atmospheric and ecological concerns

Although much of a craft burns during reentry, heavier components can survive and reach the ocean. In addition, a 2023 study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reported that roughly 10% of aerosol particles in the stratosphere contain aluminum and other metals from burning satellites and rocket stages. As more spacecraft are deliberately deorbited, these metal-bearing particles could alter the stratospheric aerosol layer and affect how sunlight and radiation penetrate the atmosphere — with potential consequences for climate and weather patterns.

On the seafloor, studies are already finding that life around Point Nemo is sparse. Research in the South Pacific Gyre that encircles the area shows low biomass and low metabolic activity in sediments (PNAS, 2009). That apparent ecological low-activity does not mean the region is immune to impact; even ecosystems with low biomass can be sensitive to chemical contamination and physical disturbance.

The International Space Station and the future of deorbiting

The International Space Station (ISS) — roughly 925,000+ pounds (about 420,000+ kg) — is slated for controlled destructive reentry after retirement, currently planned around 2031. Plans call for much of the station to be routed toward Point Nemo, making it likely that substantial structural components will survive reentry and reach the ocean surface or seafloor in that area.

What should be done?

Point Nemo’s isolation has made it a practical choice for minimizing direct human risk, but concentrating debris there raises scientific and ethical questions. Scientists argue for focused monitoring and research to understand how repeated reentries affect the local marine environment and the global atmosphere. Better tracking of debris, more robust reentry planning, and international coordination on deorbiting practices would help reduce uncertain ecological and atmospheric risks while balancing safety in populated regions.

Point Nemo may be remote, but the effects of our discarded spacecraft can travel — through the air, the sea, and the scientific unknowns between them. It deserves careful study before we treat it as a permanent dumping ground.