The International Space Station (ISS) is the biggest object ever flown in space. It orbits at around 400 km (250 miles) above Earth and a team of astronauts have lived and worked here since the year 2000. It is our first step towards exploring deeper into the Solar System.
Experiments
Astronauts do lots of scientific experiments on the space station to help us understand more about the effects of living in space. This will be useful knowledge for future deep-space exploration.
Canadam2 is a robotic arm that moves equipment around the ISS. Science experiments are carried out in the Columbus laboratory. The Japanese Kibo laboratory has a mini airlock, so astronauts can put experiments outside. Oxygen is generated in the Tranquility module. The Soyuz capsule carries people and supplies to and from the ISS.
Keeping fit
There is no gravity in space, so astronauts exercise every day. It keeps them healthy and stops their muscles from getting weak.
Spacewalk
Sometimes astronauts have to go outside on spacewalks to repair the ISS. They wear special suits to protect them from the harsh environment of space.
Nice view
From the space station you can see entire countries, storms from above, and 16 sunsets and sunrises every day!
Robonaut
Robonaut 2 is a NASA (US space agency) robot astronaut that lives in the space station and helps the crew with simple tasks, such as changing air filters. Its head has cameras, which work like eyes, and its hands can operate simple tools.
Picture Credit : Google