The International Space Station (ISS) started its initial journey in 1998, when a Russian rocket transported the first piece into space. Seventeen years later after playing host to 222 astronauts from 18 different countries, the ISS has just completed its 100,000th orbit around the Earth. NASA explained that the station has traveled 2.6 billion miles equal to 10 round trips to Mars.
Circling 250 miles above Earth every 90 minutes, ISS astronauts are treated to a spectacular sunrise or sunset. It has as much pressurized living and working space as a Boeing 747 passenger jet. It weighs nearly one million pounds (450,000 kilograms) and is about the size of a football field as shown here.
The station has been a part of many space studies including the Twins Study, which astronaut Scott Kelly spent a record 340-day mission to study long-term effects of space compared to his home bound twin brother astronaut, the Veggie Study, which successfully grew lettuce on board last year, and currently the Rodent Research experiment on researching ways to prevent weakening of muscles and bones after extended durations in space.
Retired NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao said the station is the key to the next space frontier: putting people on Mars. “The biggest technical challenges are biomedical, how to keep astronauts healthy to and from Mars as well as staying on the surface.” This is another great example of technology at work for the future of mankind.
~ Bob Larson is a technologist, photo journalist, and Marketing Director for 50Plus Media Solutions. Contact Bob at Ralarson100@msn.com