Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the International Space Station

The International Space Station is one of a kind, orbiting at 408 km (240 miles) above the Earth it is a true feat of human ingenuity and scientific prowess. Here are some things to know about humanity’s only extraterrestrial outpost.

About the International Space Station

On November 2, 2000, one American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts were the first to board the International Space Station (ISS). From this day onwards the ISS has never been unoccupied.

The ISS is a cooperation between the U.S., Russia, Japan, Canada, and 11 countries of the European Union. The assembly of the space station began as early as November 1998 when the first Russian and American modules were combined. The first module of the ISS, named Zarya, was launched into space by Russian autonomous rocket Proton. Shortly after, NASA’s module – Unity – was launched aboard a space shuttle and attached to Zarya.

The first crew of the ISS consisted of an American, William Shepard, and two Russians, Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev. To this day, 240 astronauts and cosmonauts from 19 different countries have visited the ISS, and ever since American businessman Dennis Titio became the first space tourist in 2001, six other wealthy individuals have visited the ISS.

What does life look like?

On board the ISS the crew members have to adapt to everyday tasks. They have to eat, sleep, work, all in microgravity (weightlessness). So how do they manage?

Personal Hygiene

In the shower, the water doesn’t rain down from a shower head, but rather water is dispersed as a cloud of droplets which then float around the shower room. After the astronaut is done washing the water has to be vacuumed back into the water installation.

The dirty water is then cleaned and repurposed. Living 408 km above the Earth’s surface means that not a single drop of water can go to waste. So much so that astronauts using the ISS lavatory are in fact contributing to next day’s coffee.

Eating

When it comes to food, the diet of the modern astronaut looks nothing like the grey goop or assortment of pills that sci-fi creators would have us believe. Nowadays, before astronauts go into space, they choose an assortment of meals from a diverse menu of Russian and American specialties. These are either ready-to-eat foods, such as brownies or fruit, or dehydrated meals like spaghetti or mac’n’cheese. There are no refrigerators in space, so all food has to be stored properly to avoid spoilage.

Condiments and seasoning are also provided, however salt and pepper are only available in liquid form, since sprinkling them is impossible because they would simply float away. This could clog air vents or get stuck in someone’s eye.

Sleeping

Although the ISS orbits the Earth every 90 minutes and the sun rises and sets 16 times a day, space workers go to bed at a certain time and then wake up for work, just like on Earth. Aboard the ISS there is no ‘up’ or ‘down’, so astronauts can sleep in any orientation. However, to prevent them from floating around and bumping into things they attach themselves to the wall using sleeping bags, which are located in small crew cabins, each large enough for one person.

Exercising

Exercise is an important part of life on the ISS. This is because microgravity affects the body in numerous ways. For example, muscles and bones can deteriorate over time. For this reason, astronauts exercise on average for two hours per day. However, lifting weights aboard the ISS does not work the body the same way it does on Earth. This is because in space the effects of gravity are significantly reduced, which forces crew members use specially designed equipment for use in space.

Free Time

Astronauts sometimes need a break from their busy schedules. Months of working in space can be stressful, for this reason free time is scheduled for space workers to hang back and relax.

Aboard the ISS, just like people who work full-time on Earth, crew members get the weekend off. The space workers in orbit have access to the internet and can message friends and family or even arrange video calls. Apart from this, astronauts are free to do what they like. They can watch films, listen to music, read books, play games and pursue hobbies.

Canadian Chris Hadfield, who is known for his activity on social media, became somewhat of a YouTube celebrity after his rendition of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity”, which was praised by Bowie himself. Hadfield has also filmed numerous other videos depicting everyday tasks in space.

American astronaut Karen Nyberg used her free time to knit. She made for her son a stuffed T-Rex out of miscellaneous scraps of fabric found aboard the ISS.

Still it goes without saying, that one of the most popular pastimes while on Earth’s orbit is looking out the window. There are many windows through which one can steal a glimpse of our home planet, including the cupola, which is a dome that juts out of the main structure of the ISS and has six side windows and one large centre window and offers a breathtaking view of our home planet.

20 years of research on the ISS

Over the last 20 years astronauts and cosmonauts on the ISS have conducted around 3,000 science experiments. They have covered a wide range of subjects, such as fundamental physics, Earth observation, and biomedical studies.

In microgravity things behave differently than on Earth. Fire burns differently – without the pull of gravity the flames are rounder; crystals grow better because the absence of gravity makes the shapes more even. The study of how human bodies react to microgravity is also of great importance. A flight to Mars would require months of travel in such conditions and astronauts have to be prepared for the effects of space travel.

Some of the notable experiments conducted on board the ISS include: Sifting through cosmic rays in search of dark matter particles; observing the behaviour of rodents; chronicling the life of a space courgette; and monitoring the changes that spaceflight causes to the human body using identical twin astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly.

Here’s to another 20 years of boundary-breaking research onboard the ISS.