This year marks the 25th anniversary of the continuous presence of humans on board the International Space Station (ISS). To mark the occasion, NASA released a video tour of this masterpiece of engineering and innovation on Wednesday. You can watch it using the player embedded at the top of this page.
The 15-minute tour of the space station, presented by NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Kjell Lindgren, was actually recorded in 2022, when NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 and Crew-5 missions were aboard the orbital outpost.
As the camera glides through the ISS in zero-gravity conditions, pop-ups appear explaining each section of the multi-modular facility and how to use it.
The station orbits Earth at an altitude of about 250 miles and orbits our planet approximately every 90 minutes, resulting in astronauts experiencing 16 sunrises and sunsets in each 24-hour period.
NASA describes the ISS as “larger than a six-bedroom house.” In total it measures 357 feet (108 meters), or about the size of an American football field, and inside you’ll find six bedrooms, three bathrooms, a gym and a range of research facilities.
Astronauts typically stay aboard the space station for about six months. During this time, they work on scientific research while enjoying breathtaking views of Earth and beyond.
In normal times, the crew usually consists of about six people, including Americans, Russians, Europeans, Japanese and, more recently, astronauts from other countries on private missions.
Although no death has ever been reported on board the ISS, dangerous moments have occasionally occurred at the facility. In 2021, for example, astronauts there were ordered to seek refuge in their spacecraft for a short time when space debris was spotted coming their way. Fortunately, the ISS was able to avoid any damage and the astronauts were able to continue their service.
Remarkably, the facility only has about six years of operation left. Due to its aging structure and high maintenance costs, the ISS will be freed by astronauts around 2030 and pushed towards Earth, where it will mostly burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere.
The good news is that NASA is working with private companies to build new space stations so astronauts from the United States and other countries can continue to live and work in low Earth orbit.
