Point Nemo: The Chilling Truth Behind the World's Loneliest Cemetery
Dive into the enigmatic depths of Point Nemo, the most isolated spot on Earth, where the infamous 1977 "Bloop" sounds ignited a mystery and where decommissioned spacecraft find their final resting place.
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1/1/20256 min read


The Mysterious "Bloop" Sounds of 1977
In 1977, two really strange sounds were recorded underwater. They had a very low frequency but a huge amplitude. These sounds were picked up by the radar of the U.S. Atmospheric Administration. What’s surprising is that the same sounds were also recorded by other radars 5,000 kilometers away. After some calculations, researchers figured out that these sounds originated from a super remote area in the South Pacific Ocean. At that time, they named these sounds "the bloop" and started researching what they actually were.
The eerie sounds must have come from something really big, but nothing was found in that part of the ocean for years. People started to think that there was some huge sea creature lurking beneath. However, after 2012, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration changed their tune and said that the sounds recorded in 1977 were actually caused by glacial movement, meaning shifts in glaciers. But the truth about it all is still a mystery.
The Inaccessibility of Point Nemo
There’s this really unique spot in the South Pacific Ocean where the nearest land is over 2,688 kilometers away. It’s known as Point Nemo, or the Oceanic Pole. Basically, it’s a part of the ocean that’s surrounded by thousands of miles of water with no land in sight. The closest piece of land is actually Antarctica, which isn’t exactly a friendly place. On the other side, the nearest populated land is a part of Chile, about 3,334 kilometers away, and New Zealand is even farther at 4,700 kilometers. That’s why Point Nemo is so special.
Nemo Point is considered the most desolate and barren part of the world, so deserted that the closest humans aren’t on land, but surprisingly, they’re astronauts sitting in the International Space Station, passing over Nemo Point about once or twice a day from 400 kilometers up. Despite being cut off from the world, Nemo Point isn't without purpose. Beneath this part of the ocean lie the remnants of human inventions, for which money used to flow like a river. Yes, Nemo Point is like a graveyard for broken satellites, spacecraft, and rockets.
The Utilization of Point Nemo as a Spacecraft Graveyard
The question arises about where satellites were being dumped before Point Nemo was discovered, why there was even a need to dump them, and most importantly, how satellites are actually brought to Point Nemo. Welcome back to another video on our channel! Point Nemo is located in the South Pacific Ocean, covering an area of 22 million square kilometers. That's such a huge area that even the largest country in the world, Russia, could fit in there, and there would still be enough space for five countries the size of Egypt!
In an area of 22 million square kilometers, there aren't any humans living there. In fact, even a lot of sea creatures struggle to survive underwater. Researchers believe that the conditions here are really challenging, making it tough for sea life to thrive. Point Nemo is located in a very remote and deep part of the South Pacific Ocean, where the water is cold and there's hardly any nutrients. Because of the ocean currents—basically the strong flow of water—there's a lack of nutrients in this part of the ocean.
The water here keeps swirling around, which means that the flow from other parts of the Pacific Ocean doesn't really reach this area properly. Because of that, there's a lack of nutrients, and wherever nutrients are low, plankton and other microscopic organisms are also scarce, which are crucial for the food chain. The ocean depth here is about 3,700 meters or 12,100 feet, and sunlight can't reach that far, so photosynthesis can’t happen. So, any sea life that exists here is mostly deep-sea organisms like squids that are bioluminescent.
Discovery and Recognition of Point Nemo
There are saint fish and other deep-sea creatures that can survive in extreme conditions. A Canadian engineer discovered Point Nemo back in 1992 through various mathematical calculations. This place is so remote that the guy who discovered it has never even been there himself. Nine years later, in 2001, it was first used by the Russian space agency because Point Nemo is a part of the ocean that falls within international waters, meaning no country owns it. That's why different space agencies around the world look into it.
Agencies don’t need permission to drop their space objects here. On March 23, 2001, it had been 15 years since the Russian space station Mir was launched, and it was no longer capable of staying on mission for much longer. So, the Russian space agency deorbited it, meaning they took it out of Earth’s orbit and let it crash into Point Nemo. After Mir, other space agencies found this spot quite convenient, and now they use it for dumping spacecraft too. Over the last 23 years, this graveyard has grown, and today there are 260 objects below Point Nemo.
The Process and Risks of Satellite Deorbiting
There's a lot of debris from spacecraft floating around, and the International Space Station is also set to be buried at Point Nemo because, according to NASA, its lifespan lasts until 2030, after which it will be decommissioned. Satellites and spacecraft are built with extreme precision, and even after spending millions of dollars, they aren't meant to last forever. Just like products have an expiration date printed when they're made, objects floating in space also have an expiration date.
After the date, it’s really important to crash the satellite. If that doesn’t happen, the spacecraft can go out of control and fall to the ground in an uncontrolled way. Back in 1978, there was an issue with Cosmos 954, a Soviet satellite, and it lost contact with the ground station. It went rogue and stayed in orbit for a while, but eventually, after several months, it started to head towards the Earth. The worst fears came true when it made an uncontrolled entry into the atmosphere, and the biggest risk was that it was out of control.
It wasn't just a regular satellite; it had a nuclear reactor that powered it. The satellite burned up in the sky, but radioactive material spread all over Northern Canada. After that, they kicked off an operation solely focused on finding and cleaning up that radioactive material. It was the biggest operation of its kind, named Operation Morning Light. Luckily, no one got hurt, but this incident gave the world a clear glimpse of the risks of using nuclear power in satellites.
The Need for Safe Disposal: Lessons Learned
In 1997, Lottie Williams from Oklahoma was out for a walk in a park when something suddenly fell on her shoulder. It turned out to be a piece of a Delta II rocket that had broken apart while re-entering the atmosphere miles away. Luckily, Lottie didn’t get hurt, but this incident really opened everyone’s eyes. To prevent such situations in the future, space objects are usually dropped over uninhabited areas of the ocean. Before Point Nemo was discovered, this was typically done over the Pacific Ocean or remote land areas.
Whenever a satellite or spacecraft needs to be crashed, they first use the thrusters to pull it out of orbit. Even after it’s out of orbit, it continues to circle the Earth for several months, gradually getting closer to the ground. Engineers carefully calculate when, where, and how to activate the thrusters. Before it re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere, the thrusters are activated again to steer it towards Point Nemo.
Challenges of Safely Deorbiting Spacecraft
Just remember, in space, there’s no air and no pressure, so there's no friction. Satellites in their orbit can stay there for months without power. They usually travel super fast, around 15,000 km/h. When they enter the atmosphere at that speed, friction kicks in and their temperature can shoot up to 3,000 degrees Celsius, turning them into fireballs. This heat can melt the metal on them and, in most cases, they break apart.
Before they fall, they turn into vapor and disappear, but sometimes some debris lands on the ground, and if it hits a populated area, it can cause serious damage. That's why they target these things over an area of 22 million square kilometers known as Point Nemo to keep humans safe from their harm. As for the name, "Nemo" is a Latin word meaning "no one," because no humans or marine life live here, and the location is such that ships don't pass through either; vessels avoid areas where problems could arise.
Aspiring to Explore Point Nemo: The Future Ahead
Getting help can be tough if you ever get stuck on the point rules. It could take two weeks for help to arrive by ship, and there are only a handful of helicopters in the world that can travel up to 3000 km, like the Sikorsky S-92, Westland AW101, and Lockheed Martin V-71. Even they can't guarantee they can cover that distance without refueling, and if they do, there won't be enough fuel left to get back. Reaching the point and doing underwater research is a dream for the scientific community, and it might happen in the future.