In the middle of nowhere: This is what NASA is doing in the loneliest place in the world

The idea of ​​being thousands of miles across an ocean from land can be a terrifying prospect for thalassophobia sufferers. Indeed, this place exists. It’s called Point Nemo and it’s 2,688 kilometers away from Ducie Island, which is the closest piece of land.

You can find it on Google Maps under coordinates 45 ° 52.6S, 123 ° 23.6W. Point Nemo is located between Chile and New Zealand in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean. For comparison: the International Space Station ISS is located at an altitude of 408 kilometers above the Earth’s surface. You can see where the International Space Station is located at the moment here.

Even if the isolated place reminds us of Nemo, the cartoon fish, because of its name, other fish and sea creatures do not have a nice life there. The site is considered biologically inactive. Living things have little chance of surviving there, since the winds hardly bring any nutrients there due to the great distance from the land. Strong ocean currents block nutrient-rich waters.

The point owes its name to the character Captain Nemo from Jules Verne’s movie 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. By the way, the point was discovered by a Croatian surveyor in the 90s thanks to a computer program.

Although the place is difficult to access and unsuitable for living, it has an important function.

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