The International Space Station (ISS) is one of the greatest feats of the modern world. While this is obviously true technologically and physically, it is just as true ethically. The ISS is unique because it has brought together individuals from 18 different countries and united them with a common purpose: to learn and explore the great universe which we inhabit.
While some might look at the ISS as a large drain on resources, time, and money, it is important that we look at the big picture. This world is the only one we have. The advances being made on the ISS are teaching us how to be less destructive to our planet, and actively searching for ways to live here longer. Since the beginning of time, man has explored. I believe that drive and desire will never go away.
The International Space Station generally has a crew of 3 to 6 people, although it has held as many as 13 at one time. It spans more than a football field and weighs just shy of 900,000 pounds. It has roughly the same living space as a 5 bedroom house, including a gym, 2 bathrooms, and living quarters. Currently, the only rocket that is carrying astronauts to the space station is the Russian Soyuz. The Soyuz is soon to be joined by private sector rockets by SpaceX and Boeing. On the ISS, many science experiments are conducted that will enable space travel throughout the universe. Living in a zero gravity environment is a tricky situation to overcome.
The International Space Station has had its share of news coverage for helping facilitate great success. One of which is the landmark of a person staying in space for nearly a year. Scott Kelly (USA) and Mikhail Kornienko (Russia) each spent 340 days in space. This was done to test the effect of long-term space flight on the human body in preparation for an eventual flight to Mars. Many things have already been discovered, but the data from those flights will be analyzed for many years to see ways that we can support people outside of Earth's atmosphere.
As countries continue to invest in the International Space Station, we will continue to learn about the universe around us and begin to travel to more of it. Both government agencies and private companies have made plans to travel to Mars in the near future and the ISS is playing a critical role in the research and preparation for that. SpaceX (a private company with plans to land astronauts on Mars by 2024) has been flying supply missions to the ISS for the past several years. As these continue, we see that space travel is a blend of governments, private companies, and anyone else who has a passion and interest in space exploration.
So what can you do to help support the International Space Station? Support the governments and private companies who are clearing the way to space. It is very likely we will have colonies on Mars in our lifetime, so it is time to embrace that and get excited about it.
While some might look at the ISS as a large drain on resources, time, and money, it is important that we look at the big picture. This world is the only one we have. The advances being made on the ISS are teaching us how to be less destructive to our planet, and actively searching for ways to live here longer. Since the beginning of time, man has explored. I believe that drive and desire will never go away.
The International Space Station generally has a crew of 3 to 6 people, although it has held as many as 13 at one time. It spans more than a football field and weighs just shy of 900,000 pounds. It has roughly the same living space as a 5 bedroom house, including a gym, 2 bathrooms, and living quarters. Currently, the only rocket that is carrying astronauts to the space station is the Russian Soyuz. The Soyuz is soon to be joined by private sector rockets by SpaceX and Boeing. On the ISS, many science experiments are conducted that will enable space travel throughout the universe. Living in a zero gravity environment is a tricky situation to overcome.
The International Space Station has had its share of news coverage for helping facilitate great success. One of which is the landmark of a person staying in space for nearly a year. Scott Kelly (USA) and Mikhail Kornienko (Russia) each spent 340 days in space. This was done to test the effect of long-term space flight on the human body in preparation for an eventual flight to Mars. Many things have already been discovered, but the data from those flights will be analyzed for many years to see ways that we can support people outside of Earth's atmosphere.
As countries continue to invest in the International Space Station, we will continue to learn about the universe around us and begin to travel to more of it. Both government agencies and private companies have made plans to travel to Mars in the near future and the ISS is playing a critical role in the research and preparation for that. SpaceX (a private company with plans to land astronauts on Mars by 2024) has been flying supply missions to the ISS for the past several years. As these continue, we see that space travel is a blend of governments, private companies, and anyone else who has a passion and interest in space exploration.
So what can you do to help support the International Space Station? Support the governments and private companies who are clearing the way to space. It is very likely we will have colonies on Mars in our lifetime, so it is time to embrace that and get excited about it.
References:
https://www.space.com/16748-international-space-station.html