Key Takeaways

• It is not a destination in any usual sense.
• They re-enter at high speed and can scatter material across wide areas.
• There are no ports to anchor to and no reason for commercial ships to pass through.

Key Development 1

NewsWorld NewsRest of World NewsThis place is the most isolated place on Earth, and NASA uses it as a spacecraft graveyardTrendingWorld's safest cityIsrael warna IranBruce SpringsteenGreenland protestMinneapolis newsTrump letter to NorwayRussian winterWorld's safest cityIsrael warna IranBruce SpringsteenGreenland protestMinneapolis newsTrump letter to NorwayRussian winterWorld's safest cityIsrael warna IranBruce SpringsteenGreenland protestMinneapolis newsTrump letter to NorwayRussian winterThis place is the most isolated place on Earth, and NASA uses it as a spacecraft graveyardTOI World Desk / TIMESOFINDIA.COM / Jan 21, 2026, 08:00 ISTCommentsShareAA+Text SizeSmallMediumLarge This place is the most isolated place on Earth, and NASA uses it as a spacecraft graveyard ( AI-generated) Point Nemo sits quietly in the southern Pacific, marked on maps but rarely thought about.

It is not a destination in any usual sense.

The sea itself is often described as biologically sparse, shaped by slow currents and limited nutrients.How did modern computing locate the middle of the oceanThe idea of finding the most remote ocean point sounds straightforward, but it was not possible until satellite data and computing became precise enough.

They re-enter at high speed and can scatter material across wide areas.

Key Development 2

There are no ports to anchor to and no reason for commercial ships to pass through.

Known formally as the oceanic pole of inaccessibility, it is the point on Earth that lies furthest from any landmass.

Its remoteness means the closest humans are often orbiting above it aboard the International Space Station, not on Earth.

Notable examples include Russia’s Mir space station and the European Space Agency’s Automated Transfer Vehicle Jules Verne.

Key Development 3

Its significance exists mostly in data, charts and planning documents.

Identified only in the early 1990s, Point Nemo reflects how modern mapping reshaped our understanding of the planet.

The logic is practical rather than symbolic.

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Key Development 4

Choosing a location with minimal shipping and no population reduces the chance of harm.

Scientists studying ocean circulation sometimes note the area for what it lacks rather than what it contains.

Even by ocean standards, this is extreme isolation.

Marine life exists, but in lower concentrations than elsewhere in the Pacific.A spacecraft graveyardFar above the ocean, Point Nemo has now assumed an unexpected role.

Key Development 5

Large spacecraft can survive re-entry in fragments, sometimes burning but not fully disintegrating.

There are no ships passing nearby, no islands breaking the surface, and no settlements within reach.

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Key Development 6

Letting them fall far from land reduces risk.Why isolation matters for re-entrySmaller debris often burns up unnoticed, but larger objects behave differently.

Shipping routes avoid the region.

In 1992, Croatian-Canadian survey engineer Hrvoje Lukatela developed a geospatial program called Hipparchus.

Using digital coastlines and spherical geometry, the software calculated the point furthest from any coastline.

Key Development 7

A reminder that even in an age of constant connection, there are still parts of Earth defined by distance, silence and absence.About the AuthorTOI World DeskAt TOI World Desk, our dedicated team of seasoned journalists and passionate writers tirelessly sifts through the vast tapestry of global events to bring you the latest news and diverse perspectives round the clock.

Point Nemo offers that buffer.

It is less a place people go to than a coordinate that reveals just how empty large parts of Earth still are.Point Nemo: The most isolated point on the planetPoint Nemo lies at 48 degrees south and 123 degrees west, deep in the South Pacific Ocean.

Each year, an estimated 100 to 200 tonnes of space debris falls back to Earth, and some of it is deliberately guided toward this remote patch of ocean.

Key Development 8

Its isolation, once a geographic curiosity, now serves a safety function linked to modern spaceflight.A place defined by coordinatesThere is no marker floating above Point Nemo, no sign to indicate arrival.

Weather systems pass through without much notice.

The nearest land is more than 2,600 kilometres away in every direction, split between small islands such as Ducie Island, Motu Nui near Easter Island, and Maher Island off Antarctica.

Fewer nutrients rise from the deep.

Key Development 9

The result was Point Nemo, named after the fictional Captain Nemo rather than any human presence.A region shaped by absenceUnlike coastal waters filled with fishing vessels and shipping traffic, the waters around Point Nemo are largely untouched by daily human activity.

For most people, it remains an idea rather than a location.

Space agencies use the area as a controlled reentry zone for decommissioned spacecraft.

They have directed more than 260 spacecraft there over the past 45 years.The debris ranges from rocket stages to defunct satellites.

Key Development 10

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