If Mir hits, never fear - you're covered

Rest easy - an extraterrestrial visitor stamped "made in the USSR" will not leave you out of pocket.

New Zealand insurance companies will cover damage caused by Russian space junk if the re-entry of the Mir space station goes wrong.

Mir is scheduled to plummet into the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and Chile some time between March 18 and 20.

Russian space officials are negotiating a $US200 million ($470 million) insurance policy against damage, but say it is "just another attempt to assuage fears."

They say the three Russian insurance companies have nothing to fear, and the Insurance Council of New Zealand has said Kiwis would be covered.

"It's circumstances beyond your control," said council chief executive Chris Ryan. "The rule of thumb is that you would be covered."

Space junk would be treated the same as any other objects falling from the sky, he said.

"If big hailstones come down and cause damage, you are covered. Or a skyrocket coming down would be similar."

Mir's history of calamities has fed fears that it could spin out of control and rain debris on populated areas. Most of the space station will burn up when it enters the atmosphere, but about 1500 fragments with a total weight of up to 25 tonnes are expected to survive the fiery re-entry.

Mir is scheduled to land between New Zealand and Chile on a latitude of 47 degrees south and 140 degrees west, or about 3000km east of Stewart Island.

The decrepit, 15-year-old space station will be the largest object brought back to earth and most of its 130 tonnes is expected to burn up in the atmosphere. But up to 40 tonnes of debris - about the size of three buses - could survive re-entry.

The Russians estimate only a 2 to 3 per cent chance that they will lose control of Mir during descent, but Japan and Canada, which could find themselves beneath one of its last orbits, have expressed concerns that 700kg chunks of hot space metal could come down on citizens' heads.

Entrepreneurs say Mir's plunge will be "one of the most spectacular celestial events of the 21st century" and are selling seats at up to $23,500 on a jet that will circle the crash zone.

The promoters say passengers should be able to see "140 tonnes of manmade technology careering towards the earth in a fiery display of pyrotechnics."

- NZPA