Orbiting approximately 400 kilometres above Earth, the International Space Station (ISS) is often viewed as a scientific laboratory, a political symbol, and an engineering marvel all in one. But what’s it really like to live and work aboard the ISS — and what have we learned from more than two decades of continuous human presence in space?
The ISS isn’t a sleek sci-fi spaceship — it’s a patchwork of modules, wires, and cargo bags, with limited space and zero privacy. Yet for astronauts, it becomes home for months at a time. Daily life follows a strict schedule: exercise, experiments, maintenance, communication with mission control, and the occasional Earth-gazing break.
Astronauts live by Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and experience 16 sunrises and sunsets a day. Sleep is managed in small, phone booth-sized quarters where they strap themselves in to avoid floating away. Even mundane tasks, like eating or using the loo, require special techniques in microgravity.
The ISS is more than a home — it’s humanity’s most important outpost for research in microgravity. Scientists use this unique environment to study fluid dynamics, combustion, biology, and human health in ways that are simply not possible on Earth.
British astronaut Tim Peake, who spent six months on the station in 2015–2016, conducted experiments ranging from protein crystal growth to brain function under zero gravity. His mission sparked a surge of interest in STEM education across the UK — a legacy that continues to grow.
Ongoing research aboard the ISS is informing how we protect astronauts on long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars, particularly in understanding bone density loss, radiation exposure, and the psychological effects of isolation.
As the ISS nears the end of its operational life (expected around 2030), discussions are well underway about what replaces it. Commercial space stations, international partnerships, and lunar orbit outposts are all on the table.
Whatever form the next generation of orbital habitats takes, one thing is certain: the ISS has laid the foundation for living and working in space — not just visiting it.
And from this outpost in the stars, we’ve learned something powerful: space changes how we see the world, and our place in it.
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