Why is the ISS going to be deorbited?

Question

NASA plans to deorbit the ISS sometime around 2030. Building something the size of the ISS in orbit is a huge undertaking and NASA keeps talking about wanting to build new space stations or a moon base, so why not leave the ISS in space and reuse it rather than literally throw the whole thing away?

In: Planetary Science

Answer 1

Because NASA can do more science with their funding if it is spent on something other than the ISS. Every $1 spent on the ISS gives back $0.01 of value, whereas new technology and science missions give back $2 of value (I made those numbers up, but you get the point).