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When finished, the space station will be one of the brightest objects in the sky. Image Credit: NASA
The International Space Station is a large spacecraft in orbit around Earth. It serves as a home where crews of astronauts live. The space station is also a unique science laboratory. Several nations worked together to build and use the space station. The space station is made of parts that were assembled in space by astronauts. It orbits Earth at an average altitude of 220 miles. It travels at 17,500 mph. This means it orbits Earth every 90 minutes. NASA is using the space station to learn more about living and working in space. These lessons will make it possible to explore the moon, Mars and beyond.Module: a self-contained unit of a spacecraft
Unity node. The crew attached the Unity node to Zarya.
Pictured here are members of the 17th crew to live aboard the space station. Image Credit: NASA
How Big Is the Space Station?Truss: a beam that serves as the space station's backbone to which some parts are connected
temperature.Airlock: an airtight room with two entrances that allows an astronaut to go on a spacewalk without letting the air out of the spacecraft
Astronauts can go on spacewalks through airlocks that open to the outside. Docking ports allow other spacecraft to connect to the space station. New crews and visitors arrive through the ports. Astronauts fly to the space station on the space shuttle or on a Russian Soyuz. Robotic spacecraft use the docking ports to deliver supplies.Microgravity: the condition of being weightless, or of the near absence of gravity
The space station has made it possible for people to have an ongoing presence in space. Human beings have been living in space every day since the first crew arrived. The space station’s laboratories allow crew members to do research that could not be done anywhere else. This scientific research benefits people on Earth. Space research is even used in everyday life. The results are products called "spinoffs." Scientists also study what happens to the body when people live in microgravity for a long time. NASA and its partners have learned how to keep a spacecraft working well. All of these lessons will be important for future space exploration.
Astronauts work in spacesuits to help build the space station. Image Credit: NASA
NASA is currently working on a plan to explore other worlds. One of the first steps is finishing the space station. One of the next will be to return to the moon. Astronauts will build an outpost there. NASA will use lessons it learns on the space station to build that outpost.