This lab is not on Earth at all It’s aboard the International Space Station ISS which orbits 240 miles 400 kilometers above the Earth Designing a space-based structure like the ISS for living and working presents a major engineering challenge How do you power the lab when you can’t just call the electric company Where can you find air to breathe And without a sewer how do you get rid of waste flushed down the toilet 6
Science in Space Sometimes there is no place like space when it comes to science The ISS is the only place scientists can study the effects of microgravity on the human body They also examine how near-weightless conditions affect plants These experiments could pave the way for future trips to Mars 7
SPACE STATIONS THROUGH TIME ISS engineers are not the first to grapple with these issues The Soviet Union’s bus-sized Salyut became the world’s first space station in 1971 Over the next decade the Soviets launched six more space stations which were home to astronauts from Bulgaria to Cuba and Vietnam On Oct 2 1985 Soviet astronauts aboard Salyut 7 known as cosmonauts set a record for the most days in space 237 days An artist’s concept illustrating an Apollo-type spacecraft left about to dock with a Soviet Soyuz-type spacecraft 8
A Place of Peace U S and Soviet astronauts fi rst worked together in space in July 1975 A U S Apollo and Soviet Soyuz spacecraft came together in space and the crews spent almost two days together It paved the way for the ISS which involves the cooperation of many countries 9
