The Underwater Cemetery That NASA Doesn’t Want People To Know About

Space Exploration

For the past six decades, countries from all over the world have been exploring outer space. There are plenty of things that we don’t know about what lies beyond Earth’s atmosphere. Between the black holes, the other galaxies and the supernovas, it is no wonder we are sending ships to space to see what mysteries will unfold.

Out Of Use

Have you ever wondered what happens to spaceships and satellites when they are no longer necessary or operable? These pieces of machinery weight hundreds of tons. Where do objects this large go when we no longer need them? There is a place that they all go to. The underwater cemetery that NASA doesn’t want people to know about actually exists out in the middle of the ocean.

Just Beyond New Zealand

Just beyond New Zealand is a stretch of ocean known as the South Pacific Ocean Uninhabited Area (SPOUA). Most nations around the world use the same name for the stretch of ocean, and they also know it as the “spaceship cemetery.” For nearly 50-years, this had been the final resting place for spacecraft from various countries.

Why Here?

There is a reason that experts have chosen this area to lay spacecrafts to rest. The coordinates are 43°34’48” S, 142°43’12” W. It is also known as Point Nemo, named after Nemo for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. More importantly, it is Earth’s sole oceanic point of inaccessibility.

Distance

SPOUA is the single point in the ocean that is the furthest away from land on all sides. It is located between Ducie Island of the Pitcairn Islands, Motu Nui of the Easter Islands, and Maher Island off Antarctica. The stretch of sea is located over 1,600 miles from shore. This makes it the perfect place to send them out of commission spaceships because people don’t travel through these waters due to the distance from land. This is important because nobody wants to risk human life.

Ships Passing

While this area is often clear of ships, there are some who pass through the area from time to time. Fortunately, space organizations are careful about this. Before a ship is going to be sent to the underwater graveyard, a notice is sent out well in advance. This gives ship captains an idea of when it is safe to pass, and when it isn’t.

Not As Easy As It Sounds

The spacecrafts that are under the waters of SPOUA were not taken there by ship or tanker. They are sent straight to the area from space. This should tell you that it isn’t as easy as it may seem. The pilots who get these crafts to Earth first use the ship’s remaining fuel supply. Next, they must steer the ships toward Earth’s reentry point. When the crafts reach the Earth’s atmosphere, there is dense gas, which causes a great deal of friction. Most of the ship disintegrates. The rest is buried under the water. To help you put things into perspective, the massive Mir station weighed 143-tons when it was launched. When it reached the water, it weighed just 25-tons.

Crafts In the Spaceship Graveyard

The Mir is just one of the spacecrafts that lie on the ocean floor. There are also six Salyut stations, the Russian Progress cargo craft, the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle, and the ESA’s Jules Verne ATV.

Why Not Leave Them In Space

There is a reason that we don’t simply blast these unnecessary spacecrafts out of the Earth’s atmosphere. It takes a lot of fuel to get the ships into space. It would need much more to get them out of the Earth’s atmosphere. Even if we had an unlimited supply of fuel, there is no guarantee that they wouldn’t find their way back. SPOUA is the safer, more practical way to lay our spacecrafts to rest.

Plenty Of Room

Because SPOUA spans thousands of ocean miles, we don’t need to worry about running out of space any time soon. We don’t put ships under the water in this area on a daily basis; therefore, there is plenty of room. With all of the mysteries associated with space, it is nice to have at least one answer. You now know where the ships end up. It may sound strange to take ships from space and send them to one of the deepest areas of Earth, but it works. It is better than leaving them in space, hoping that they will stay there forever. Intentionally sending them down to Earth in a place that is rarely passed by humans is both the safest and most effective way to put these ships to rest. We don’t know when the next ship will be laid to rest there, but we do know that it will happen again one day.