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Space Station 25th Anniversary Science Images

On November 2, 2025, the International Space Station celebrated 25 years of continuous human presence. This image gallery takes a look back at some of the highlights over the two and a half decades of science performed aboard the orbiting lab.

ISS001-389-023 (February 24, 2001) --- The International Space Station serves as humanity’s orbital laboratory, enabling cutting-edge research and technology demonstrations...
The International Space Station is seen orbiting above the Earth. Black space is seen at the top of the image in the background, and the Sahara Desert is seen at the bottom of the image in the background.
iss01e6886 (March 14, 2001) --- Expedition 1, Expedition 2, and STS-102 crew photographed in the Unity module of the International...
ISS008-E-20610 (April 5, 2004) ---NASA astronaut Michael Foale photographs samples for the Binary Colloidal Alloy Test-3 (BCAT-3). Colloids, composed of...
ISS010-E-24980 (April 18, 2005) ---Cosmonaut Sergei K. Krikalev is holding a sample tube as part of the Commercial Protein Crystallization...
A crew member is seen working on the International Space Station. He is holding a small white cylinder with parts of the experiment inside of it.
iss013e63407 (August 3, 2006) --- The Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE-3 and 4) is shown attached to the outside...
Eruption of Cleveland Volcano, Aleutian Islands, Alaska in 2006.
A volcanic eruption on Earth is seen in this picture taken by a space station crew member. Dark grey clouds of ash and smoke are seen coming out of the volcano.
iss020e019067 (July 11, 2009) --- Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata performs a check of the payload SPHERES....
A space station crew member poses with three bowling-ball sized objects. One is blue, one is red, and one is yellow.
iss028e016134 (July 12, 2011) --- A view of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer - 02 (AMS-02) mounted on the outside of...
The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer experiment is seen installed on the external truss of the space station. The letters "AMS" appear on the experiment hardware. Space station radiators and solar arrays are in the background. The Space Shuttle is seen docked to the space station.
JSC2012-E-017837 (January 4, 2012)--- This composite image shows the progress of the International Space Station as it crossed the face...
ISS033-E-011146 (October 10, 2012) --- SpaceX’s first Dragon commercial cargo craft grappled by the International Space Station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm....
iss031e112292 (June 09, 2012) --- NASA astronaut Don Pettit is photographed in the International Space Station’s Cupola. Pettit set up...
Astronaut Don Pettit is seen in the space station Cupola. Don is surrounded by a dark cloth, and only his head is seen. Five cameras are placed in front of the Cupola windows. The window shutters are partially closed, allowing a small of amount of light to enter the Cupola.
SS036-E-006520 (June 5, 2013) ---NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg, conducts an Ocular Health exam in the Destiny module of the International...
Astronaut Karen Nyberg is seen floating in the space station. Karen is looking into a device to measure ocular health.
iss035e040444 (July 09, 2013) --- A vivid composite image illustrates the flames produced during the Burning and Suppression of Solids...
A composite image that shows the progression of a flame as is burns in microgravity. Numerous images are placed side-by-side and show the flame in different forms.
iss042e046048 (December 16, 2014) ---NASA astronaut Barry (Butch) Wilmore holds a 3D-printed tool made aboard the International Space Station. The...
iss042e016553 (November 27, 2014) --- European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti exercises on the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED)...
Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti is seen performing exercises on the space station. Samantha is laying down on a yellow platform, and is pushing a bar away from her body.
iss038e045009 (February 11, 2014) ---The Small Satellite Orbital Deployer (SSOD) is photographed deploying a set of CubeSats. CubeSats are small...
iss041e055423 (October 03, 2014) --- European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Alex Gerst is working on the Drug Metabolism experiment. This...
Astronaut Alexander Gerst is seen holding equipment for a space station experiment. There is a bag on a table next to Alexander. The bag is filled with additional payload hardware.
iss044e064421 (August 25, 2015) --- Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui is photographed with a bag of assorted...
Astronaut Kimiya Yui is seen floating in the International Space Station. Numerous oranges and yellow colored apples and lemons float in front of Kimiya. Kimiya is smiling.
iss044e011199 (July 10, 2015) --- The Destiny module is the primary U.S. research laboratory on the International Space Station, supporting...
iss046e040899 (February 14, 2016) --- Zinnia flowers, the first flowers grown in space, are photographed in the International Space Station’s...
A bunch of orange and white zinnia flowers are seen floating in front of a Cupola window on the space station. The Earth is out of focus in the background.
iss046e015807 (January 21, 2016) --- NASA astronaut Scott Kelly (left) and Roscosmos Cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, participated in a jointly conducted...
iss049e035512 (October 14, 2016) ---NASA astronaut Kate Rubins is shown in the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) collecting samples for Microbe-IV,...
iss052e013087 (July 10, 2017) --- NASA astronaut Jack Fischer works on the Capillary Structures investigation, which studied structures of specific...
iss052e014201 (July 11, 2017) ---NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson uses a microscope to view Magnetic 3D Cell Culturing, an investigation that...
iss059e092719 (June 10, 2019) ---Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut David Saint-Jacques is shown hydrating growth packets as part of the...
Astronaut David Saint-Jacques is seen performing an experiment on the space station. David is injecting liquid from a syringe into a small cylindrical container.
iss057e055500 (October 22, 2018) ---The Neutron Star Interior Composition ExploreR (NICER) X-ray telescope mounted to the exterior of the International...
The NICER payload is seen installed at an exterior location on the space station. A space station solar array is seen in the background.
iss056e131400 (July 31, 2018) ---NASA astronauts Serena Auñón-Chancellor and Drew Feustel conduct different experiments using research gloveboxes. Facilities like the...
Astronauts Serena Auñón-Chancellor and Drew Feustel are seen conducting experiments using research gloveboxes on the space station. Serena is in the foreground on the right side of the image, and Drew is in the background on the left side. They are looking at the camera and smiling.
iss055e006395 (March 29, 2018) ---Extending from the Kibo laboratory module on the exterior of the International Space Station is the...
iss058e011401 (February 8, 2019) ---The Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo vehicle is pictured in the grips of the Canadarm2 robotic arm....
iss061e148301 (January 29, 2020) --- The Space Test Program Satellite-4 (STPSat-4) photographed on the exterior of the International Space Station,...
An experiment is seen attached to a space station robotic arm. The experiment appears as a box with orange and blue colored solar panels on the sides. The Earth is seen out of focus at the bottom edge of the image.
iss062e115369 (March 26, 2020) ---NASA astronaut Jessica Meir works on the Engineered Heart Tissues investigation in the Life Sciences Glovebox....
iss064e024453 (January 21, 2021) --- NASA astronaut Shannon Walker and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi speak with...
iss066e084306 (November 26, 2021) --- Expedition 66 astronauts are pictured with the first chile peppers grown aboard the International Space...
NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Shane Kimbrough, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration) astronaut Aki Hoshide, and NASA astronaut Megan McArthur pose side-by-side on the space station. Red and green chile peppers are seen floating in the foreground. The crew members are smiling and looking at the camera.
iss067e149651 (June 24, 2022) --- NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Bob Hines work on XROOTS, which used the station’s Veggie...
iss070e014288 (October 26, 2023) --- The Canadarm2 robotic arm, with its fine-tuned robotic hand Dextre attached, is pictured as the...
iss072e189028 (November 15, 2024) --- NASA astronaut Suni Williams conducted capture techniques with REACCH, tentacle-like robot arms with gecko-like adhesive...
Astronaut Suni Williams poses with experiment hardware on the space station. The experiment hardware appears as a medium sized cube, with two blue arms at the top. The arms are protruding out from the top in arcs. Suni is floating behind the hardware, and she is holding her arms out, mimicking the experiment hardware.
iss072e316087 (October 23, 2024) --- The International Space Station is shown over the southern Pacific Ocean by crew in a...
The International Space Station is seen orbiting over the Earth in this image taken by a crew member from another orbiting vehicle. The entire space station is seen at a distance, and the Earth appears in the background. The Earth appears as blue water with swirling white clouds.
iss073e0078566 (May 23, 2025) --- NASA astronaut Anne McClain and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Takuya Onishi work together...
NASA astronaut Anne McClain and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Takuya Onishi are seen performing an experiment on the space station. Takuya is in the foreground on the right side of the image, and Anne is in the background on the left side of the image. Takuya is performing a blood draw on his right arm, and Anne is placing a vial of blood in a small tray with other vials.
iss072e595522 (January 30, 2025) --- NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore is shown during a spacewalk, swabbing external surfaces near life support...
iss073e0281502 (July 03, 2025) --- A Gigantic Jet event was photographed by NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers from aboard the International...