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KidStation - What is the International Space Station?
Imagine working and living in a floating space lab. Don’t think it’s possible? Where have you been? OUTER SPACE? It already exists! It’s the International Space Station (ISS).
The Space Station will be used to observe the Earth and space. It will also be used to conduct experiments to develop new materials and medicines which can only be developed in microgravity. All of these projects will improve life on Earth!
Here are some other observations...
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The Station is a huge research facility that orbits 400 km above Earth where astronauts can live and work. |
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It will take over 50 missions to transport and assemble all of the parts of the ISS, including 160 space walks or 960 hours! |
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The Station will be powered by an acre of solar arrays that will generate enough power for 55 houses! |
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There will be 6 labs with 24 experiments racks that are the size of your refrigerator at home. Once construction is completed by 2006, the Station will cover an area about the size of a Canadian football field. |
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An international crew of 7 astronauts will live in the ISS. Expedition 1, the first permanent crew of three, was launched aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket on October 31, 2000. |
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Wonder how much room the astronauts will have to live and work in? The Station will have the same amount of space as three average-sized houses put together. If you’re having trouble picturing that, it’s about the size of the inside of a Boeing 747. |
Canada, along with the United States, Russia, Japan, Brazil and 11 European countries (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom) are building the International Space Station. Symbolically, it shows that many countries can work together to create something that will benefit all of humankind!
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