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The International Space Station (ISS)


Digital drawing of ISS when completed
On January 29th, 1998, 15 countries met in Washington DC to agree to an unprecedented collaboration as partners in the design, development, operation and use of an international space station. Today, four years later, the International Space Station (ISS) is the largest, most expensive laboratory ever built in space. The station and its crew draw from the resources and scientific knowledge of multiple countries to perform state-of-the art research in the space environment. Four Expedition crews have occupied the station for up to six months at a time, and the Expedition Five crew is currently living and working in space. Assembly of more than 100 components of the station will continue through the year 2006.

Sally Ride EarthKAM's Home on ISS


The window in which the Sally Ride EarthKAM ESC will be mounted aboard the ISS
On May 6, 2001, the Sally Ride EarthKAM Electronic Still Camera (ESC) was set up on the ISS. We took our first pictures, and began the process of testing our camera and flight software as it interacts with our new home on the Station.

The Sally Ride EarthKAM camera was the first operational payload in the US Laboratory, named Destiny (shown below). Both Destiny and Sally Ride EarthKAM flew in February of 2001, on STS-98 (flight 5A). The aluminum lab is 28 feet long by 14 feet wide and is composed of three cylindrical sections and two endcones, used to mate the lab to the other station components. The crisscross aluminum struts visible in the picture add strength to the hull without adding excessive weight. A debris shield blanket now covers the struts, and a thin aluminum debris shield placed over the blanket adds further protection from the harsh environment of space.


The US Laboratory, Destiny, shown here in the fall of 1997 under construction at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama
The single 20-inch window, found on one side of the center segment of the lab, is where the Window Observation Research Facility (WORF) will be located. Sally Ride EarthKAM will be the first of several users of the WORF, which is a rack designed to accomodate a variety of Earth observation research. The WORF, which will provide power, communications and other utilities to the payloads, is scheduled to launch on STS-114 in January 2003. The Sally Ride EarthKAM camera will draw power and receive light control from the WORF. The ESC is mounted on a bracket similiar to the one used during previous Shuttle missions; however, the bracket will be modified to accommodate the requirements of both the WORF and its other users. The ESC will be mounted on a motorized bracket, with movement in five directions - lateral, longitudinal, depth and lateral rotation. The flight software will be updated to include commands that allow the bracket to be controlled remotely from the ground.

With the placement of Sally Ride EarthKAM on the International Space Station, students will not have to wait for a Space Shuttle flight. Missions now occur about once every three months, where each participating school is assigned a time period in which they can submit pictures for the camera to take. For more information about involvement in Sally Ride EarthKAM, please visit our Educators section.


Comparison of two images of the Tibetan Pleateau - The image on the left was taken in March of 1996; the image on the right was taken ten months later, in January of 1997
Sally Ride EarthKAM's permanent home on the International Space Station will have innumerable effects on the study of Earth Science. The ISS is in the same inclination as was the Russian Space Station, Mir, at an inclination of 51.6 degrees to the Equator. All of Sally Ride EarthKAM's missions took pictures of the Earth from Space Shuttles flying at 51.6 degrees because they docked with Mir. (The only exception was STS-99 in February 2000, when Endeavour flew at a 57-degree inclination.) Images taken on the more recent flights show drastic changes when compared to those taken a few months or years earlier. With regular Sally Ride EarthKAM missions, we will be able to further track the changes made to the Earth. Since the Earth is constantly changing, there will never be two pictures exactly the same.

The NASA International Space Station Official Site
Explore the space station, the crews, and the missions in-depth

Research on the ISS

The International Space Station provides scientists as well as students with a unique opportunity to do research in the microgravity conditions of space for extended periods of time much longer than a Shuttle mission. In space, objects seem to weigh a lot less than they do on Earth because the pull of gravity is not as strong. Many everyday processes depend on gravity. For example, sedimentation is the separation of particles based on their weight, with the heavier ones sinking and the lighter floating. Without gravity, not only would things not fall down, but items that normally float would not necesarily retain this buoyancy (e.g. ice cubes would not automatically float to the top of a glass of water). The research conducted on the station includes many different areas of focus, all of which aim to improve everyday life. Some of these areas are:

  • Earth Science
    From more than 200 miles above the Earth, our planet can be viewed and studied at a unique vantage point. Trends in atmoshperic quality, weather, climate change, vegetation and land use, mineral and food resources and health of fresh and salt water can all be seen and analyzed from the ISS. Sally Ride EarthKAM was the first of such projects on the ISS. The Sally Ride EarthKAM digital camera is mounted in the Destiny Laboratory window, and students from participating middle schools select pictures to be taken. After these locations are photographed, students are able to study these photos first hand.
  • Space Science
    Above the Earth's atmosphere, outer space can be observed with greater clarity. The ISS will give much more opportunity for astronauts to explore near and distant galaxies as well as our own solar system. The Sun and its effects on the Earth are other areas to be examined.
  • Life Science
    On the ISS, researchers have the opportunity to study the effects of living in space on both human and animal subjects. In the absence of gravity, several physiological changes occur. Fluids that are normally held down by gravity rise, causing the upper portion of the body to swell. Without the pressure from the weight of the body, bone calcium is lost and unused muscles deteriorate. For the health of the astronauts, it is important to study these effects and find countermeasures to slow them down. Currently, exercise is used to keep astronauts physically strong.
  • Microbiology
    In addition to studying the astronauts, researchers will investigate the role of gravity on cellular and molecular structures. Without the restrictions of gravity, many of these structures will grow differently. By studying the evolution, development and function of various biological processes, researchers hope to gain a better understanding of how they work.
  • Biotechnology
    Biotechnology is the application of engineering and technology in life science. Two areas of biotechnology will be primarily explored on the ISS. The first of these, protein crystal growth, will be studied by cultivating certain proteins. In the absence of gravity, these proteins grow larger and with greater perfection, making them easier to study. The second area of research will involve cell and tissue culturing. These studies will use bioreactors to grow human tissue outside the body. By doing this, scientists can study the effects of various medicines on these tissues without harming humans. Someday, these tissues may directly transplant damaged tissues.
  • Materials Science
    Materials science studies how materials are formed and the properties they possess (e.g. thermal, magnetic, chemical, et cetera). In the absence of gravity it is possible to form materials in different ways that may yield better combinations.
  • Combustion Science
    Combustion science is the study of how fire burns. Normally, gravity draws cool, heavy air down and causes the hot, light-weight products of combustion to rise (that is, a flame is always oriented vertically). Without gravity, fire behaves quite differently than on Earth. Studying combustion may help make its use here on Earth as an energy source more efficient, and also make advances in space flight fire safety.