The most remote place on Earth

In 1992, survey engineer Hrvoje Lukatela located the point in the ocean that was farthest away from any land using a computer program that calculated the coordinates that were the greatest distance from three equidistant land coordinates. It is very possible no human has ever passed through those coordinates at all.

This remote oceanic location is located at coordinates 48°52.6′S 123°23.6′W, about 2,688 kilometers from the nearest land—Ducie Island, part of the Pitcairn Islands, to the north; Motu Nui, one of the Easter Islands, to the northeast; and Maher Island, part of Antarctica, to the south.

The closest humans to Point Nemo are the astronauts in the International Space Station, who fly just under 400 km above the zone! Space agencies they use it when calculating the trajectory of re-entry during their “de-orbiting” process. It is where decommissioned spacecraft go to die. For example, when the Russian space station, Mir, was decommissioned, the oceanic pole of inaccessibility was chosen as the spot for it to crash land to ensure the debris generated by its re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere didn’t cause damage on land.

As a result, a veritable spacecraft cemetery has been created over the years around Point Nemo. NASA favours it for the final resting place of the International Space Station, which must be dismantled or reconfigured in 2024.

As for non-human inhabitants, there aren’t very many of those around Point Nemo either. The coordinates are actually located within the South Pacific Gyre: an enormous rotating current that actually prevents nutrient-rich water from flowing into the area. Without any food sources, it is impossible to sustain any life in this part of the ocean (other than the bacteria and small crabs that live near the volcanic vents on the seafloor).