Did you know astronauts on the International Space Station while orbiting Earth witness many more sunsets and sunrises each day than what we people on the planet do? As the ISS circles the Earth every 90 minutes, astronauts witness 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets every 24 hours.
The massive ISS is a partnership of 15 countries and is made by conjoining several different parts over the last two decades. As per the data given by NASA, the ISS measures 109 metres long and 75 metres wide, similar to the length of an American football field. Besides, it weighs 420 tonnes and travels around the Earth at extreme speed. The ISS orbits the earth at a speed of over twenty-seven thousand kilometres per hour and thus completes a full revolution in just 90 minutes. Breaking down the data, the station makes 16 orbits of Earth and thus, travels through 16 sunrises and sunsets in just 24 hours.
The news about this exciting event made the headlines yet again after NASA’s official Twitter handle made the revelation during an interactive session after astronauts Akihiko Hoshide and Thomas Pesquet completed their spacewalk, reported The Atlantic. Several astronauts including Scott Kelly and Victor Glover have kept their spirits high by posting images of sunrise and sunset from their space module.
Picture Credit : Google
