International Space Station(ISS)

News:The U.S.-Russian space crew has reached the International Space Station(ISS) after a launch was carried out by Russian Soyuz rocket from Kazakhstan.

Facts:

  • The International Space Station(ISS) is a space station located in the low Earth orbit.
  • Participating agencies:It is a joint project between five space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe) and CSA (Canada).
  • Aim:To serve as a microgravity and space environment research laboratory in which crew members conduct experiments in biology, human biology, physics, astronomy, meteorology and other fields.

Additional Facts:

  • Space Station:It is a habitable artificial satellite which is capable of hosting crew members for an extended period of time and provides facilities for experiments and support vehicles to dock.
  • Tiangong:It is a space station announced by China which will go into orbit by 2022.
  • India has also planned to launch its own space station by 2030 joining the league of US, Russia and China.