At Point Nemo in the Pacific you’re closer to space than anywhere on Earth! This unique spot, the farthest on the entire planet from land, goes by “the oceanic pole of inaccessibility”. It is named after the famous submarine sailor from Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues under the Sea. Located in the southern Pacific Ocean, you’d have to travel 1,000 miles from even the closest points of land to reach it. These include Motu Nui off the west coast of Chile; Ducie Island between South America and Australia; and Maher Island off the coast of Antarctica. That’s so far that the closest people to Point Nemo are up in space! The International Space Station orbits just 250 miles above Earth’s surface.
Point Nemo is so far from land, the nearest humans are often astronauts. The International Space Station orbits the Earth at a maximum of 258 miles (416km). Meanwhile the nearest inhabited landmass to Point Nemo is over 1,670 miles (2,700km) away.
In fact the whole region around Point Nemo is well known to space agencies.
The area is officially known to space agencies as the “South Pacific Ocean Uninhabited Area”. In particular, the Russian, European and Japanese space agencies have long used it as a dumping ground, because it is the point on the planet with the fewest human inhabitants and the quietest shipping routes.
Picture Credit : Google
