International Space Station
Also called: ISS · Topic: Origin and Evolution of the Earth and the Solar System · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The International Space Station (ISS) is a large science laboratory that circles the Earth in low Earth orbit, the band of space quite close to our planet. Several space agencies built it and run it together: those of the USA, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada. Astronauts live on board and carry out experiments in microgravity, which means a state of near-weightlessness where things float instead of falling. Many experiments that gravity spoils on Earth can be done there. This makes the ISS the model for other space stations, including India's planned Bharatiya Antariksh Station.
Example
NASA installed its Cold Atom Laboratory on the ISS in 2018. It was the first to make a Bose-Einstein condensate in Earth orbit. A Bose-Einstein condensate is a strange state of matter formed when atoms are cooled almost to absolute zero. Because the atoms floated freely, scientists could watch them for more than one second. India has also used the ISS: seven Indian microgravity experiments were shortlisted for the Axiom-4 mission.
Don't confuse with
- China Space Station (Tiangong): China's own station, separate from the ISS. It reported the record low temperature of 9.7 picokelvin. The ISS holds a different record: the first condensate made in orbit.
- Bharatiya Antariksh Station: India's planned national station. Its first module is targeted for 2028, and it should be fully working by 2035. It does not exist yet, but the ISS is already in orbit.