THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION: WHY IS IT BEING RETIRED AND WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO IT?

The last decade of the ageing space station's life will feature private occupants, movies and an eventual watery grave

- COLIN STUART

“There are some adults who can now say that there has been someone in space for every single day of their lives"

It is one of the most iconic pieces of space hardware in history, but the days of the International Space Station are now officially numbered. NASA has announced that the curtain will finally fall on the ISS in 2031. The football-pitch-sized orbit outpost will be decommissioned and brought crashing back to Earth before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.

HOW LONG HAS THE ISS BEEN UP THERE?

The ISS has a rich history. The first segment was launched in 1998 and it has been continuously inhabited since November 2000, with crews of astronauts swapping in and out for typical six-month stays. There are some adults who can now say that there has been someone in space for every single day of their lives.

It was designed as a home from home. A tentative first toe into the celestial waters. A place to test out how to live in space for months at a time, while relatively close to the safety of the Earth. The lessons we've learned about living in microgravity have set us up with the confidence to return to the Moon later this decade and then to venture out to Mars after that.

WHY IS IT BEING DECOMMISSIONED?