Inside ISS: Life At 28,000 km/h In Microgravity With Cosmic Research

India.com

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The International Space Station (ISS) is a space lab that travels around Earth about 400 kilometers above the surface, moving at a speed of 28,000 kilometers per hour. Its main goal is to help scientists understand how living in space affects our bodies and health. This is important for planning longer space trips in the future.
Besides studying how space affects humans, the ISS also helps scientists learn more about the universe. It carries instruments that study powerful space particles, which are tiny bits of matter flying through space at very high speeds. These particles, called cosmic rays, come from the sun and even from outside our solar system. They can be dangerous to astronauts and electronics, so it's important to understand them.
The ISS also studies neutron stars, which are the leftover cores of giant stars that exploded in the past. Even though they are small—only about the size of a city—they are extremely dense, meaning they pack a lot of mass into a tiny space. One teaspoon of a neutron star would weigh millions of tons! Learning about them helps scientists understand how stars live and die, and how extreme space environments work.
The space station has had astronauts living and working on it non-stop since November 2000. It's a joint project between five major space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), the European Space Agency, Japan's space agency (JAXA), and Canada's space agency
As of May 2025, a total of 285 individuals from 23 countries have visited the International Space Station (ISS). This group includes both professional astronauts and private individuals.
Among these visitors, 13 were private individuals, often referred to as space tourists, who traveled to the ISS through commercial arrangements.
The ISS serves as a unique laboratory where scientists conduct experiments in microgravity, aiming to advance our understanding of space and improve life on Earth.
What is the ISS ?
In the mid-1980s, U.S. President Ronald Reagan asked NASA to build an international space station within ten years. He said this space station would lead to major progress in scientific research, helping scientists make big discoveries.
At first, the United States t.eamed up with Europe and Japan to build the space station. In 1993, Russia was also invited to join because it had the most experience running space stations in orbit. By 1998, five major space agencies from around the world had come together to work on the International Space Station project.
The International Space Station (ISS) was designed as a group of connected, tube-shaped sections. It runs on solar power and uses special cooling systems with pipes that release heat into space. The ISS is made up of two main parts: the Russian Orbital Segment, managed by Russia, and the U.S. segment, which includes modules and technology from several other countries working together.
The construction of the International Space Station (ISS) started in November 1998, when the first part of the station—the Zarya Control Module—was launched into space by a Proton rocket. 'Zarya,' which means 'sunrise' in Russian, was built to provide power, communication links, and help control the station's position in space. Today, although it no longer handles those tasks, Zarya is still used for storage and helping with movement of the station.
Two weeks after the Zarya module was launched, astronauts on the U.S. space shuttle Endeavour, operated by NASA, brought a key American part of the ISS called Unity. This module is very important because it connects the Russian and U.S. parts of the space station, allowing them to function together as one large structure.
The first team to live on the International Space Station (ISS) arrived on November 2, 2000. This crew included two Russian cosmonauts, Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev, along with NASA astronaut Bill Shepherd.
Today, the International Space Station (ISS) is as large as a football field in the U.S. It usually has at least three astronauts living and working there at any given time, but sometimes there can be up to six people on board.
Both the U.S. and Russian sections of the International Space Station (ISS) produce their own power and have their own labs, living areas, and places for spacecraft to dock. These sections are connected, so astronauts can freely move between them. They are also attached to a large metal framework called a truss, which supports the station's solar panels and cooling systems that release heat into space.
Also connected to this metal framework (truss) is the Canadarm2—a large robotic arm made by Canada. It works like a remote-controlled space crane and is used for many important jobs, such as moving equipment around the station and grabbing incoming spacecraft to help them dock safely.
On the U.S. side of the space station, the biggest module is called Kibo, which means "hope" in Japanese. It's a science lab built by Japan. What makes it special is that it has an external platform, like a porch, where experiments can be done directly in outer space (exposed to the vacuum, meaning without air or atmosphere).
Close to the Kibo module is Node 3, also called the Tranquility module. This section contains the cupola, a special viewing area built by Europe, which has several windows. It gives astronauts amazing and unforgettable views of Earth from space.
In 2016, NASA added an inflatable room (a soft, expandable structure that grows bigger once it's in space) called the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (or BEAM) to the space station for the first time. This special module might be a first step toward building inflatable space hotels or space tourist spots in the future.
Why the ISS Matters ?
All living things on Earth have adapted to survive in Earth's natural environment—not in the harsh and unfamiliar conditions of space, which can affect living beings in unexpected and difficult ways.
The International Space Station is the best place to learn how to live and work in the strange environment of space. It helps scientists study how space affects the human body and other living things, which is important because our bodies are used to life on Earth.
The biggest challenge of living in space is handling two major conditions: microgravity (which means there is almost no gravity) and high levels of space radiation. Both of these can seriously affect how the human body works, making it harder to stay healthy in space.
Living in space also means adjusting to a small, enclosed space, having limited contact with people back on Earth, and facing stressful situations where astronauts must quickly work together as a team to stay safe.
Astronauts must adjust to life where the sun rises and sets 16 times each day, as the space station travels around Earth every 90 minutes (16 sun rises and 16 sunsets) . To get proper sleep, they need to secure themselves to a fixed spot so they don't float. Also, they must exercise daily to keep their bones strong and prevent muscle loss caused by the low gravity in space.
The International Space Station (ISS) astronauts have to deal with very hot and very cold temperatures as it orbits Earth. The side facing the sun can get as hot as 121°C (250°F), while the side facing away from the sun can drop to -157°C (-250°F). That's a huge difference of nearly 300°C, which is why the ISS needs advanced cooling and heating systems to keep everything working properly.
In space, there's no up or down, so astronauts face many problems. They may feel dizzy or confused about direction, their blood and fluids move differently in the body, and many also have eye problems, which scientists are still trying to understand.
In space, astronauts are exposed to more radiation, which raises the risk of getting cancer. To protect them, scientists on Earth are working on special spacesuits that can block harmful cosmic rays (high-energy particles from the sun and outer space) and keep astronauts safer during long space missions.
Astronauts on the space station stay busy with many science experiments that help us learn how people might live in space for a long time. These include growing plants and human tissues in low gravity, finding out how germs behave in space, studying how space changes our DNA and genes, and even checking if humans can have babies in space—though that last part is still not fully known.
While most experiments on the space station focus on how humans can live and stay healthy in space, some research done outside the station looks far out into space. These experiments help scientists learn more about the universe and the space environment where future space travelers might live.
One of the tools on the space station, called NICER, is used to study neutron stars. These are the leftover cores of dead stars (what remains after a big star explodes in space). They are known to be the densest objects in the universe that scientists have discovered.
Another device on the space station, called the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), is used in particle physics research. It tries to catch and study cosmic rays (tiny, high-energy particles from space) to help scientists learn more about how the universe began and what it's made of at the most basic level.
In recent years, U.S. astronauts usually stay on the International Space Station for about three to six months. However, in 2016, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko set a record by staying in space for nearly one full year. Back on Earth, scientists are also creating similar space-like environments to study how isolation affects people's minds and behavior. This helps them figure out what kind of person is best suited for very long space missions in the future.
Modern Journeys to ISS
Until 2011, astronauts traveled to the International Space Station using either U.S. space shuttles or Russia's Soyuz spacecraft. But after the U.S. stopped using the space shuttle, the Soyuz became the only way to reach the ISS. This changed in May 2020, when SpaceX, a private company, successfully launched astronauts to the space station, bringing back another option for human space travel.
SpaceX has been sending supplies to and from the International Space Station (ISS) since 2012. In 2020, the company also began flying astronauts to the ISS through NASA's Commercial Crew Program.
The Dragon spacecraft, built by SpaceX, can carry up to 6,000 kg (13,228 lbs) of cargo to the ISS and bring back up to 3,000 kg (6,614 lbs) to Earth. So far, Dragon has completed more than 20 missions to the space station.
Dragon is also built to carry up to 7 people to and from Earth's orbit. The pressurized part of the capsule is specially designed to hold both humans and delicate cargo that needs a safe environment.