12 Interesting Facts About the ISS That Will Surprise You

International Space Station (ISS), also known as Orbital Space Station is a larger spacecraft in the earth’s orbit. The ISS is not only a space station but is also a science lab. The ISS is an important place to carry out tests and research for future space missions. Nearly 15 countries contributed to building the ISS, and they also work together to use it. The ISS started getting built-in in 1998 since the station continuously evolves new experiments and missions. As said earlier, the ISS is not owned by any single country, it is a cooperative program, but it involves five participating agencies- NASA(United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), and CSA (Canada). Here are some of the interesting facts about the ISS.

Interesting Facts About the ISS

• The International Space Station is 357ft long, which is about the size of an American football field, including the end zones. 
• The first piece of the International Space Station was launched on November 20, 1998. It was originally created to be a laboratory, observatory, and factory. 
• The space station makes about 16 orbits of the earth, traveling through 16 sunrises and sunsets in just 24 hours. 
• One of the interesting facts about the ISS is that 251 individuals from 19 countries have visited the International Space Station.  
• The International Space Station is the largest artificial satellite in space. It is about 109 m x 51 m x 20 m and can be easily seen from the ground during darkness with the naked eye. However, it is not always visible to the naked eye.  
• The International Space Station comprises six sleeping quarters, two bathrooms, one gym, and a 360-degree view bay window. The gym is equipped with three workout machines- A bicycle, to give astronauts a full-body workout. 
• Astronauts have to work out every day to prevent muscle and bone loss. On average, astronauts exercise two hours per day. This is indeed one of the interesting facts about life in international space. 
• Since December 1988, 245 spacewalks have been carried out in space. 
• Space is full of space junk! Nearly 27,000 pieces of space junk or orbital debris exist in the space environment, which can cause danger to the International Space Station.
• Peggy Whitson set the record for spending most total time living and working at 665 days.
• Food comes in disposable packages in space. Astronauts can choose their favorite from a wide variety of foods and drinks. However, it is harder to eat food in space. 
• The internal pressurized volume is equal to that of the Boeing 747. Nearly 52 computers controlling the ISS. 

We hope these random ISS space facts would have entertained, enlightened, and blown your mind.