International Space Station

The International Space Station is a joint venture of several countries, including the United States, Japan and the European Space Agency.

Origins

The idea for the space originated in the Cold War.  In the early 1980's, the United States began development on a space station named Freedom.  It never made it past the drawing boards and component tests, however, due to budget constraints.  The Soviet Union was planning on constructing a new space station to replace Mir, but the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990's prevented this.

International Cooperation

In 1992, then President George H.W. Bush met with Russian President Boris Yeltsin and signed an act that would move towards a cooperative space exploration initiative.

An overview of the life on board the space station.

1. Sleeping in Space
2. Hygiene
3. Food and Drink
4. Exercise
5. Crew Schedule

Sleeping in Space

The space station is equipped with enough sleeping units for the permanent crew (up to six) and visitors can strap a sleeping back to a wall somewhere within the station.

Hygiene

The astronauts are provided with shampoo that doesn't need rinsing and edible toothpaste to conserve water.

Food and Drink

The food on the space station is frozen, bagged or canned.

Exercise

The space station is equipped with two treadmills and a stationary bicycle.

Crew Schedule

The space station uses Coordinated Universal Time (UTC, also known as GMT).  Since the orbit of the space station gives it 16 sunrises within a 24 hour period, the windows have to be darkened to give the impression of night.