Who made the ISS?
The ISS was not made by any particular person, more of a large group of different countries including Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the USA. They worked together to provide materials from their country to make the ISS. The different parts of the ISS were made separately and construction began on November 20, 1998. Once all the separate parts of the ISS were assembled (after many rockets being fired into space containing panels of the ISS), astronauts were sent up in other rockets to live in the station. The main launchers of the rockets with the parts of the ISS were the USA and Russia. The first part of the ISS was launched on 1998. The ISS consists of pressurized modules, external trusses, solar arrays and other components.
The ISS research lab
The ISS research lab, since it has a perfect view of earth and its atmosphere, can monitor/study the earth so that they can prevent disasters etc. The research lab can also improve coastal health because it produces drugs and hi-tech medicines that can only be produced in that type of atmosphere. The lab can also scan lakes and rivers to determine how deep they are, the water clarity and the bottom type etc. NASA supports the study of STEM and has supplied certain schools with valuable resources. The ISS lab is also very important for the research for new technologies. They have been testing a technology for launching mini satellites into space to collect information. Another exiting technology developed in the ISS lab is the Robotic Refueling Method (RRM), this will help the development of space exploration by using advanced robots to service equipment in space. In the ISS lab there have also been many other exiting finds also n the department of human health and science disciplines.
What is it like to live in the ISS?
The living conditions in the ISS are not to bad. The people on board sleep in sleepers were they have computers and personal items. They eat from packaged (some food is freeze-dried but most is not) food packs. These food packs have food from all over the world, such as the USA, Russia, Japan etc. They are also able to float around and move without walking. Their routine is more or less the same as they would be on earth, they brush their teeth, go to the bathroom and eat breakfast i the morning. Overall the condition is not that different from the condition on earth except for the fact that they don't walk but float.
Crew activities
The crew wakes up at approximately at 6 o'clock in the morning and then carry out morning activities and an inspection of the station. After that, the crew eats breakfast and then has an online conference with mission control. The crew then starts work around 8 o'clock. After this, the crew exercises then carries on with their work that they had just started. At 1 o'clock, the crew breaks for a 1 hour lunch period. Then the crew continues work until 6:30 when the have dinner and a final crew conference. The sleep period then starts at 9:30. Normally the crew will work 10 hours per weekday an 5 hours on Saturday. The rest of that time they have to themselves. The ISS also celebrates Christmas, including the day it is celebrated on the Russian Calendar.