It has been orbiting the Earth for three decades, but the International Space Station (ISS) is getting ready to say goodbye to outer space.
NASA has confirmed that in 2030, the world’s most famous floating laboratory will be deorbited (in a controlled way) and will probably fall into the Pacific Ocean. And so, one of the most exciting scientific collaborations in our history will come to an end. But of course, now comes the question… what comes next?
It was launched into space in 1998, and the ISS has been much more than connected modules; it has been a home for many, a laboratory, and the first human experiment in space.
For 25 years, crews from all over the world have lived up there, carrying out more than 4,000 experiments, growing the first space lettuce, studying how microgravity affects the human body, observing dark matter particles… and in the process, they learned something even more valuable: how to work together, even in the most difficult conditions.
“The great achievement of the station was not only the science, but learning how to do it in such an adverse and cooperative environment” said sociologist Paola Castaño from the University of Exeter.
It was global cooperation in a time when that seemed almost impossible.
Building and maintaining the station has cost a fortune, no exaggeration, it is estimated at around 150 billion dollars, and NASA alone has invested about 3 billion per year in its operation.
Many expected those billions to bring astonishing discoveries, miraculous cures, or breakthroughs that would change history, but the reality was different. The ISS taught us how to work and build beyond Earth.
It was an experiment, because every cable, every routine, every mission up there was a lesson for future lunar and Martian colonies.
With the end of the International Space Station, NASA has decided to pass the torch. There will be no more projects on its part, and it will hand over space operations to private companies.
The plan is called CLD (Commercial Low Earth Orbit Destinations), and the idea is that companies like Axiom Space, Blue Origin, or Starlab will build and launch their own stations. These platforms will be used for space tourism and even orbital logistics.
It sounds good, although not everyone is convinced yet. Many wonder whether researchers will end up becoming customers of these large corporations or whether business will outweigh science. There are many uncertainties, since it is a very different model from what we have now, where knowledge is shared and results are public.
As mentioned above, ISS data has been shared with universities and laboratories around the world, creating a global network of knowledge. But once it passes into private hands, that could change, there would no longer be a community but rather a race for profit. They could restrict data or even charge for access to information.
And if that culture of sharing is lost, we will also lose an essential part of what the ISS meant for humanity.
The farewell plan is already ready: a vehicle will guide the ISS’s reentry (all under control, of course) toward “Point Nemo” a spot in the Pacific where there are no islands or human life for thousands of kilometers, to avoid any damage.
And there is where the ISS will be lost forever, with only a few fragments reaching the bottom of the ocean.
When the International Space Station sinks into the Pacific, not only will tons of metal be lost, but also a symbol of what we are capable of achieving when we cooperate. Its fall will mark the end of an era… and the beginning of another. And we will have to decide whether we are facing a common good or just another market.