International Space Station
/ Courtesy NASA
The International Space Station (ISS) may soon find it’s home at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.
World news agency AFP reports Russia plans to plunge the ISS into the ocean after its life cycle ends in 2020 in an effort to prevent it from becoming space junk. Vitaly Davydov, deputy head of Roskosmos space angency, tells AFP, “…we will be forced to sink the ISS. It cannot be left in orbit, it's too complex, too heavy an object, it can leave behind lots of rubbish."
While 2020 is the scheduled end of the ISS era, MSNBCreports there are talks of extending the mission that includes Canada, Europe, Japan, Russia, and the U.S.A. The extension would give the space station an additional eight years.
According to NASA, the International Space Station is the largest spacecraft, and is a home for astronauts. It is composed of a series of science labs, in which several countries work together to learn and explore. It was first launched in 1998 by a Russian rocket, and the first crew arrived in 2000. You can learn more about the space station by clicking here.
In the meantime, we want to know how you feel about the space station being disposed of into the ocean. Leave us your comments below.
