10 Fascinating Facts About International Space Station

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23 February 2025

The International Space Station (ISS) is a marvel of human ingenuity orbiting Earth, and it's packed with fascinating details. Here are 10 interesting facts:

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1. The ISS orbits the Earth at an altitude of around 400 kilometres, completing one rotation every 93 minutes. This allows it to experience 16 sunrises and sunsets every day

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2. The ISS is the largest human-made object in space, weighing over 450,000 kilograms (1 million pounds) and stretching 109 meters (357 feet) in length

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3. The ISS is a joint project between five space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), ESA (Europe), JAXA (Japan), and CSA (Canada)

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4. It's a floating lab where over 3,000 experiments have been conducted, from growing food in space (like lettuce) to studying how microgravity affects the human body

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5. As of now, it's hosted astronauts for over 24 years, with more than 240 people from 19 countries having lived there. The record for the longest stay is 340 days, set by Scott Kelly

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6. The ISS offers a unique environment for scientific research, with its microgravity conditions allowing for the study of phenomena that cannot be replicated on Earth

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7. Astronauts have clocked over 1,600 hours on spacewalks to build and maintain it. The first major assembly spacewalk happened in 1998, and they've been tweaking it ever since

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8. The ISS has a total of six sleeping quarters, two bathrooms, and a gym to keep astronauts fit during their stay 

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9. The ISS is equipped with a massive solar array that generates 84 kilowatts of power, making it one of the most powerful solar-powered systems in space 

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10. Water is precious up there, so the ISS recycles about 93% of it. That includes turning sweat and even urine into drinkable water

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