The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has attracted the attention of people all over the world, and many countries have expressed their views on the matter, even proposed sanctions, and Russia has also made a series of countermeasures to sanctions.
According to foreign media reports, the head of the Russian Federal Space Agency warned on Twitter that the sanctions imposed by the United States on Russia could have a serious impact on space.
"If cooperation with us is prevented, who will avoid the International Space Station (ISS) from uncontrolled de-orbit and crash into the United States or Europe," he added. ”
The International Space Station is a space station currently operating in Earth orbit, operated by the United States, Russia, Japan, Canada and the European Space Agency, and the main module is divided into two parts, namely the Russian orbital module and the United States orbital module. The orbit and position of the International Space Station are controlled by Russian engines. There are currently 4 American astronauts, 2 Russian astronauts and 1 European astronaut on the International Space Station.
I believe that many people will not ignore Russia's warnings, because they are really very tough. So the question is, if the 500-ton International Space Station really falls out of control, can it destroy a city?
The International Space Station fell
65 million years ago, the Earth experienced an asteroid impact on the Earth, when an asteroid with a diameter of 10 kilometers hit the Earth, triggering the Earth mass extinction event, and the dinosaurs became extinct in this disaster.
Many people are worried that the fall of the International Space Station will be as dangerous as an asteroid hitting the earth, especially the International Space Station is very high in mass, weighing 500 tons, and once it falls out of control, it will not be a good thing for human beings.
In fact, the original plan of the International Space Station was to fall on the earth, but the original plan was to fall after the decommissioning (the International Space Station has repeatedly delayed the decommissioning time), and the controlled fall. The site of the fall has been selected, just above the sea at 48°52.6′S123°23.6′W in the middle of the South Pacific, known as "Nemo Point".
Nemo Point is located in a very remote area, very far from other settlements in the world, and even the ships passing through here are pitiful. It's about 2,700 kilometers from the nearest inhabited landmass, and even the fastest ships take up to 15 days to get here.
In contrast, the space station, 400 kilometers from Earth's orbit, is the closest human to Nemo Point.
On the other hand, Nemo's dot bag is sandwiched in the middle of the sea surrounded by the South Pacific circulation, blocking the inflow of nutrients from the outside world, and it is very far from the land, lacking organic matter that washes into the sea from the land, and there is no marine snow subsidence to maintain the ecosystem here, so the marine life here is very rare, and it can even be described as "desert", and only some organisms survive near the hot springs on the seabed.
Because Nemo Point is remote and sparsely inhabited, it is the spacecraft drop site chosen by humans, and the International Space Station also plans to fall here controlled after the passage, so as to achieve the least impact on humans and the earth.
What if the Iss space station falls out of control?
Although humans have chosen Nemo Point as the place where the International Space Station fell, if it really causes an "out-of-control fall" for various reasons, the International Space Station at this time will turn into a large meteorite, which will have a certain impact on the earth. However, the International Space Station is difficult to destroy a city.
First of all, because 71% of the earth's area is ocean, and the remaining 29% is land, but there are also a lot of forests, deserts and other uninhabited areas, from the probability point of view, the probability of hitting the city is not large.
Secondly, compared with meteorites, the International Space Station is a hollow structure, and in the process of falling, the dense atmosphere will quickly burn and disintegrate, and the disintegrated debris will greatly reduce the threat to humans.
In addition, most of the materials used on the International Space Station are light metals, and without an insulating layer, they are easily burned after falling, and the last part of the debris can reach the earth's surface.
Most importantly, the speed of the International Space Station is not fast, far less than the speed of meteorites, and the impact on the Earth is not as good as meteorites of the same mass.
But this does not mean that we do not need to be vigilant, to know that the Islamic Space Station is large, the mass is very large, even if only part of the debris hits the earth, once it enters a densely populated area, it will cause casualties, property damage, but the strength is not enough to destroy the entire city.
What's more, the is difficult to intercept when the ISS crash, while it does not carry weapons, is a threat in itself. Therefore, No one dares to ignore Russia's warning.