INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

TOPIC: Science & Tech

Context- NASA has said the International Space Station cease operations in 2031.

Concept-

International Space Station:

The ISS is a manmade space station or artificial satellite that is habitable for humans in space.
It is in the low-earth orbit and there are astronauts living onboard the space station conducting experiments on earth science, biology, biotechnology, astronomy, microgravity, meteorology, physics, etc.
The International Space Station was the brainchild of former US President Ronald Reagan, who in 1984 proposed building a permanently inhabited spacecraft in cooperation with a few other countries.
The ISS was developed and built by five space agencies namely, NASA (USA), Roscosmos (Russia), European Space Agency (ESA-Europe), JAXA (Japan) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA-Canada).
The station is divided into two sections: the Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) is operated by Russia, while the United States Orbital Segment (USOS) is run by the United States as well as many other nations.

How will the ISS retire?

According to NASA, the ISS’ re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere will take place in January 2031.
Mission control will first lower its altitude and then descent into the South Pacific Oceanic Uninhabited Area (SPOUA), in an area known as Point Nemo.
- Point Nemo is a sort of space cemetery, where decommissioned space debris are often brought to rest. It is located at a distance of 2,700 km from any land. The place has been named after a character in Jules Verne’s novel “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.

What’s next for the ISS?

According to NASA, once it retires, the ISS will be replaced by “one or more commercially-owned and -operated” space platforms.