Concerns raised by marine environment specialists and environmental watchdog groups over end-of-life plans for the International Space Station (ISS) have been reported by Space News.
The ISS is due to be de-orbited in 2031, with the $843 million contract for doing so awarded by Nasa to SpaceX.
The 400 tons of space hardware, which is already suffering from cracks and air leaks after decades in orbit, is not expected to entirely burn up during re-entry. The remains will join predecessors such as Mir and several of the Salyut space stations at the "spacecraft cemetary" Point Nemo, the farthest point from land in the middle of the Pacific ocean.
This has caused concern amongst the scientific community, with one expert likening the plan to the dumping of unused ammunition from World War II in the oceans, while another compared it to the dumping of dumping single-use plastics in the marine environment.
The disposal plan is being evaluated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Featured Image: International Space Station
Image Credit: Nasa
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