Spacecraft cemetery

The spacecraft cemetery, also known as spacecraft graveyard or spacecraft junkyard, known more formally as the South Pacific Ocean(ic) Uninhabited Area—is a region near, but beyond the southern edge of Polynesia, more specifically the South Pacific Ocean east of New Zealand—where spacecraft that have reached the end of their usefulness are routinely crashed. The area is roughly centered on "Point Nemo", the oceanic pole of inaccessibility, the location farthest from any land. The defunct space station Mir and six Salyut stations are among those that have been ditched there. Other spacecraft that have been routinely scuttled in the region include various cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station, including Russian Progress cargo craft, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency H-II Transfer Vehicle, and the European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle. A total of more than 263 spacecraft were disposed in this area between 1971 and 2016. The International Space Station is slated to end up in the spacecraft cemetery upon "retirement". Current considerations of the spacecraft cemetery include the environmental impact it creates on marine life within the South Pacific Ocean Uninhabited Region. This region is beyond legal jurisdiction of any country, and therefore faces less regulation. Currently two treaties outline certain laws that can be applied to the spacecraft cemetery. The Outer Space Treaty produced by the United Nations reflects on damages caused by spacecraft on opposing nations. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea reflects on general marine pollution. In rare cases, marine pollution could be caused by spillage of the highly toxic rocket propellant hydrazine. Other forms of space debris removal are being considered and produced to slow the exponential growth of space debris orbiting Earth due to increased space exploration.