NASA is paying Elon Musk’s SpaceX $843 million to bring down the International Space Station (ISS).
The ISS was built in 1998 in a joint venture between NASA (America), Roscosmos (Russia), ESA (Europe), JAXA (Japan), and CSA (Canada).
Since 2000, the ISS has been a working and living hub for astronauts, orbiting about 400 km (250 miles) above Earth. NASA refers to the ISS as a 'convergence of science, technology and human innovation.'
And as Ken Bowersox, NASA's associate administrator for Space Operations Mission Directorate, put it: "The orbital laboratory remains a blueprint for science, exploration, and partnerships in space for the benefit of all." But while the ISS is still structurally sound, some of its systems are wearing down.
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Engineers warn that if left unchecked, the station could eventually fall out of orbit on its own - something NASA wants to avoid at all costs.
Therefore, the US space agency has awarded SpaceX the lucrative $843 million contract to destroy the ISS.
To prevent an uncontrolled descent, NASA has tasked Elon Musk's space company with developing a massive 'space tug' designed to guide the ISS safely into the Pacific Ocean.
The deorbit vehicle - an adaptation of the company’s Dragon capsule - will be used to lower the station’s altitude over several months.
About six months before re-entry, astronauts will abandon the station, leaving it unmanned for the first time in over 25 years. Once it's low enough in the atmosphere, scientists expect the ISS to 'destructively break up,' with its solar panels expected to be the first to disintegrate. Heavier components, like the core modules, will likely remain intact until they reach the ocean.
Mission controllers need to ensure that the remaining debris is as far away from people as possible and therefore, selected a remote location in the Pacific Ocean called Point Nemo as the crash site.
Although NASA has planned for the ISS to remain operational until 2030, Musk recently suggested it might be time to retire it even sooner.
The Tesla CEO no longer sees a purpose for the outpost anymore as it's already showing signs of its advanced age.
Taking to X, Musk wrote: "It is time to begin preparations for deorbiting the Space_Station
"It has served its purpose."
He added: "There is very little incremental utility. Let’s go to Mars."
The world's richest man has long been focused on Mars colonisation, and phasing out the ISS could free up resources for future space missions. Meanwhile, most countries have agreed to support the ISS until 2030, but Russia has only committed to supporting it until 2028.
Either way, the countdown to the ISS’s final mission has officially begun.