The International Space Station

The International Space Station (ISS) is one of humanity's most remarkable achievements. 5 independent agencies  (NASA, Roscosmos, ESA, JAXA, and CSA) worked on the station and got it up in low Earth orbit. Let’s start with the history and conception of the ISS. After the Space Race started to end, the two competitors in the space race were planning potential collaborations in space. Eventually, the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz Test Project happened. Two different spacecraft from two different nations docked. It was a success and paved the way for more missions. Over the years, plans were made to create space stations similar to Skylab and Freedom. There were some hurdles in places like funding, which made the project more international. The USSR was planning to make another space station, but there were financial and political problems, which made the USA and USSR team up on the plans. In 1993, politicians from both sides announced plans for what would be the ISS. This was the conception of this amazing space station. The ISS was constructed by multiple countries around the globe.  The first modules were up in space in 1998, and occupancy started in 2000; almost 300 astronauts have been there. Segments were added throughout the years and are considered a really big endeavor in space architecture. ISS has multiple onboard systems, this is because many space agencies prefer their astronauts alive. These life support systems are the atmosphere control system, water supply, food supply, sanitation and hygiene, and fire suppression. There are also other important systems like power and communications. I won’t really talk about these systems. Permanent residents take care of the ISS. Every now and then, the group that takes care of the ISS gets replaced. The record for the longest time spent in space and on the ISS is held by Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos. He spent 1,111 days there! But space travel isn’t just for astronauts; it is also for really rich people. At first, Roscosmos offered space travel to the ISS for a cost of 40 million. NASA and ESA didn’t like that, though. But in 2021, NASA also began authorizing paid visits down as Private Astronaut Missions. These flights have numerous safety precautions, like using NASA vehicles, and include qualified individuals. There have been two Private Astronaut Missions so far, and since 2025, NASA offers 2 private astronaut missions a year, which is pretty cool. Now let’s talk about the environment on the ISS. Gravity is slightly weaker on the ISS, but things there are in constant freefall,making one feel weightless. This effect is not truly happening from factors both natural and man-made, which is pretty cool, but if you were on the ISS every day there, you would be exposed to one year’s worth of natural radiation exposure, and there are some biological hazards too. These biological organisms(bacteria, microbes, etc) have been studied by NASA to improve life on the ISS for astronauts, which is pretty cool. The ISS has multiple safety plans for many disasters, such as bacteria, fire, radiation, and toxic gases, to keep the environment on the ISS safe. But you may have some health problems, though, like alterations in DNA, cognition, more stress, and other medical issues. The life on the ISS is decently large. The space is as big as a 6-bedroom house with 3 bedrooms, a gym, 2 dining rooms, and a bay window. It is pretty big, but you can’t really have a walk outside. If you want to see the inside of the ISS, there are pictures and even a google street view! Food can be weird, though. ISS food is preserved and packaged to minimize waste and crumbs. Food tastes duller on the ISS, so they make the food taste stronger. There have been experiments to see if they can make vegetables there, which were actually successful. The ISS is pretty expensive, 150 billion in USD for everything! But it did give us a lot. The ISS is an amazing place, but it was meant to end sooner. It was originally meant to be 15 years long, but it was extended due to its success. Some day, the ISS missions will end, but all the things we learned and achieved from it will still be there.

Image Credit: Johnson, N. (2026, February 18). The station pictured from the spacex crew dragon. Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasa2explore/51814201476/in/album-72157720187084178