Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Image credit: NASA/Roscosmos

NASA’s plan to de-orbit the International Space Station in coming years has fallen under the scrutiny of a government watchdog group. That action has stirred up a wave of reaction by a leading ocean conservation organization.

“As part of the reentry process, NASA expects portions of the ISS and deorbit vehicle to break up and fall into the remote part of the ocean to minimize the risk to populated areas,” states a recent GAO report.

Gap in international law

Taking a nose-up position on the prospect of nose-diving the ISS is the Ocean Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-headquartered group with a mission to improve global ocean health and the human relationship with the sea via carefully chosen strategies and projects.

Possible splash down zone for the International Space Station, an area around Point Nemo, formally dubbed “the oceanic pole of inaccessibility.”
Credit: Google/Public Domain

“We believe this gap in international law needs to be closed, and the ISS de-orbit is a vivid illustration of why,” says the chief of Ocean Foundation.

Go to my new Space.com story – “NASA wants to dump the ISS in the sea. Experts say the plan ‘raises serious concerns for ocean health,’” at:

https://www.space.com/space-exploration/international-space-station/nasa-wants-to-dump-the-iss-in-the-sea-experts-say-the-plan-raises-serious-concerns-for-ocean-health