A Virtual Tour Of The International Space Station: How It Is To Live In Space

The International Space Station (ISS) is the home for astronauts from 17 different countries. It is an artificial satellite, meant for conducting research in space. Living in micro-gravity or zero gravity is sure an intriguing idea for common people. But in reality, living in space is much more complex and tough.

In an attempt to give a virtual feeling to common people who can just imagine living in space, NASA released a hi-def video of the interior and compartments of the International Space Station (ISS), according to Slate.com. The video includes a tour of the various nodules and ports of the space station, including the famous Destiny, Columbus and Kibõ laboratories, the cargo berthing ports, the docking ports, Unity and Harmony nodes and a superficial view of Dextre and Canadram2 robotic arms, solar arrays.

If one is picturing ISS as a claustrophobic containment, then he is quite mistaken. The present International Space Station is extensive and provides enough space for the laboratories and working area for its inhabiting astronauts and space tourists. Watching the 18 minutes and 4 seconds long video, one can get a brief idea of how it is to live in space, orbiting around Earth and conducting valuable experiments in biology, physics, astronomy and other related and non-related fields.

Expedition 50

The first crew members of ISS occupied it on Nov. 2, 2000, and they were designated as Expedition 1. The current crew members belong to Expedition 50. NASA periodically announces information relating to the orbit status and experimental studies done by the crew members inside the ISS.

In a recent report published in SpaceRef, NASA provided the information on the activities of the Expedition 50 crew members. It narrated the Marangoni Ultrasonic Velocity Profiler-2 experiment conducted by Commander Shane Kimbrough inside the Kibõ lab and also on the installation of aerosol samplers by Flight Engineer Peggy Whitson for collection of airborne samples from space.

The Joint ISS Program

The ISS is a multinational venture. Its use and maintenance is based on the international treaties existing between the member countries. Recently, Russia launched the 'Progress 65 cargo craft' that was delivered last Saturday. Soon, Japan is going to launch the Kounotori HTV-6 resupply cargo, which will be delivering vital supplies to the astronauts on Dec. 13, 2016.

In the last 16 years, the International Space Station (ISS) has played a pivotal role in international space research and exploration and hopefully it will continue to do so for many more years to come.