Visitors of the International Space Station are trained in English and Russian

Read about every visitor to the International Space Station

The US has sent the most astronauts to the ISS, with 170 visitors, followed by 64 from Russia, 11 from Japan, and nine from Canada. American astronauts Michael E. Lopez-Alegria and Peggy A. Whitson and Russian cosmonauts Yuri Malenchenko and Fyodor Yurchikhin have the most trips, with five each.

The International Space Station is made up of two incompatible segments

Before collaborating due to financial difficulties, Russia and the US had independently been working on developing their own space stations. A specialized adapter was created to connect the Zarya and Unity modules and create the foundation for the ISS.

Explore a timeline of the International Space Station National Lab

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan called for establishing a human presence in space, which began with NASA astronaut Bill Shepherd and Russian cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev on November 2, 2000. Humans have continuously occupied the ISS every day since.

Most elements of the International Space Station were installed over two decades

Space shuttles delivered storage carriers, docking compartments, airlocks, solar arrays, and labs, which were assembled in low Earth orbit. The station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm, alongside maneuvering spacewalkers, has assisted with this assembly since its installation in 2001.

The crew of the ISS creates unique memorials for deceased colleagues

The continued human occupancy of the International Space Station since 2000 has led to the development of social and cultural elements by crew members, which the ISS Archaeology Project has catalogued. Records of handmade cakes, decorations, and memorabilia highlight the human aspect of living in space.

Space trash forced astronauts on the International Space Station to take shelter

An inactive Russian satellite broke up into nearly 200 pieces, prompting astronauts on the space station to take shelter in a docked spacecraft and a capsule that could be used to escape in case of emergency.

Technologies developed for the ISS have brought benefits to people on Earth

About 93% of water used onboard the International Space Station is recycled through filtration and purification systems that have since been used in regions lacking access to clean water. Treatments to mitigate bone loss and muscle atrophy in astronauts can also help aging adults.

Guide a ship to dock at the International Space Station

Dozens of ships dock at the ISS yearly, rotating astronaut crews and delivering supplies. This simulation lets you try docking a SpaceX Dragon 2 using the same interface and controls as NASA astronauts.

Take a virtual tour of the International Space Station

The ISS is the largest human-made object in space. Its modules were meticulously connected by robotic arms and astronauts during slow, careful spacewalks, creating a structure with over eight miles of electrical wire.

Astronauts follow strict schedules to mimic Earth days and stay healthy in space

Experiencing 15 sunrises and sunsets a day while aboard the International Space Station, visitors preserve their circadian rhythms and mental health with fixed timetables. Astronauts have described sleep as living in a vacuum cleaner due to ongoing air filtration.

Explore a collection of resources celebrating the 20th anniversary of the ISS

The media includes a 3D model of the International Space Station, a gallery of images taken from there of Earth, a set of virtual puzzles created from images related to the station, and an ISS digital coloring book.

The Russian Federal Space Agency enabled the first space tourism journey

NASA refused to take Dennis Tito, who had no formal training as an astronaut, up to the International Space Station. Instead, the American engineer and entrepreneur traveled aboard the Soyuz TM-32 mission and described the initial experience of microgravity after engine shut-off as the "most spectacular" part of the flight.

Watch the Space Olympics from the International Space Station

From "synchronized space swimming" to "weightless sharpshooting," crew members in 2021 competed in microgravity versions of events from the summer Games. The "lack-of-floor routine" featured mid-air gymnastics as astronauts floated through space station modules.

When retired, the International Space Station will undergo a controlled de-orbit

With plans to transition low-Earth orbit operations to private entities, the ISS is expected to be retired by 2030, using a SpaceX de-orbit vehicle. Although reentry will burn up most hardware, NASA intends for any surviving debris to fall into an uninhabited ocean area.

A 'holoported' medical team has been beamed into the International Space Station

In 2021, using the Microsoft HoloLens Kinect camera and custom Aexa Aerospace software, NASA's flight surgeon led a team of hologram doctors on a pioneering visit to the space station, marking a significant advancement in communication and telemedicine technologies that will be crucial for future deep-space missions.

Astrobee is a free-floating robotic system helping with routine tasks on the ISS

Three cube-shaped robots use electric fans to fly through the microgravity environment of the International Space Station. They are equipped with cameras and sensors that allow them to "see" and navigate their surroundings to take inventory, document experiments, and move cargo.

Watch the lessons Christa McAuliffe was supposed to teach aboard Challenger

After the Challenger disaster prevented McAuliffe from teaching in orbit, educators-turned-astronauts Joe Acaba and Ricky Arnold filmed her planned science demonstrations aboard the International Space Station during the 2017-18 school year.

In 2001, Pizza Hut became the first company to deliver pizza to space

The chain paid the Russian space agency nearly $1M for the promotional stunt, which saw a Russian cosmonaut eat the pizza on video. Other unusual objects to make it to the International Space Station include a gorilla suit, an espresso machine, and several musical instruments.

A list of technologies that run on Linux, including those on the International Space Station

Besides the Astrobee robots and computer systems on the ISS, the security and reliability of Linux distros have led to their use by the Federal Aviation Administration, the Pentagon, the Library of Congress, and the New York Stock Exchange. Many of the operating systems found in smart devices, autonomous vehicles, and wearables also run atop the Linux kernel.

Where did the term ‘astronaut’ come from?

Astronaut essentially translates to space sailor, though these sailors may be referred to differently depending on their home country. For example, Russian star sailors are called cosmonauts. Though why American, European, Canadian, and Japanese...

NASA uses extreme Earth environments to prepare for space exploration

Analog missions in volcanic terrains and craters mimic Martian and lunar environments. Crew members operating in these missions, including at sites in Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and Hawai'i, test suits and specialized space instruments under simulated conditions.

Before humans, the Soviet Union and the United States sent animals—including apes, dogs, and cats—to space during the Space Race.

Why most Eurovision acts sing in English

Eurovision is intended to be a celebration of diverse cultures from around Europe—and, in the case of Israel and Australia, beyond Europe. But since 1999, most of its participants have sung in English. This episode of "The Allusionist" features Historian Dean Vuletic, who breaks down why so many countries' competitors avoid their native languages.

A global list of every space exploration mission

Learn how and why we explore our solar system and beyond with space exploration missions, and find out how you can get involved.

Learn how the Soviets won the early space race

This video traces how Cold War arms competition transformed rocketry into a symbol of global power, following pioneers like Tsiolkovsky and von Braun through World War II and into the 1950s, culminating in the Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik I in 1957.

Astronauts have repaired genetic damage in space using CRISPR—a molecular tool that can make precise changes to DNA and is used in single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses.

Why English is so difficult to learn

As a language, English is a hodgepodge—a Germanic language heavily influenced by French and Latin. These combinatorial roots have left the language full of irregularities and inconsistencies, with complexities such as varying verb forms for...

Children are now three times more likely to say they want to be a YouTuber when they grow up than an astronaut, with some even attending 'YouTube camps' that teach kids how to create content for the platform.

Explore the known asteroids, comets, and spacecraft involved in asteroid studies within our solar system with 'Eyes on Asteroids,' a 3D visualization from NASA.

After 25 people used virtual reality headsets to practice flying with virtual wings—flapping their arms—their visual cortex responded to the wings almost as if they were real arms, treating them as body parts.

Track the location of the Voyager probes, currently between 13 and 15 billion miles away from Earth.

Explore what it's like inside a patient isolation unit, used in situations such as treating a patient or suspected patient with Ebola.

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The US dollar is the most widely circulated currency in the world, and is involved in nearly 90% of global transactions

While the sun's gravity keeps the planets in orbit, their gravity also pulls on the sun, causing it and everything else in the solar system to orbit around a mutual balance point called the barycenter—the true center of the solar system.

An investigation suggests a Scottish island became awash in forever chemicals via seafoam and seaspray—raising questions about what that means for the safety of other coastal areas.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is independent of Iran's regular army and is one of the most powerful and influential military-political organizations in the Middle East.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.

Watch how algorithms can be designed to train themselves and self-improve without human input, to the point where the optimized code is too complex for programmers to understand.

The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

See the 25 of the best photos of auroras from around the world.

During the French Revolution, a botanist's letter asking about "dear Rhus" (poison ivy) was intercepted, leading authorities to suspect he was conspiring with the Russians.

'Shogun,' a 1980s TV series, helped popularize sushi in the US by stimulating an American interest in Japanese culture.

Explore chaos in this simulation of two double pendulums, where small differences in the release angles produce wildly different outcomes.

Budweiser stores yeast derived from the original 1800s strain in a secret bunker, which only the Head of Yeast Management can access—not even the CEO

The rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson centered on federalism—the question of how much power the federal government should hold relative to the states.

The term 'algorithm' originated from the Latinized name of al-Khwārizmī, a 9th-century mathematician whose works introduced Arabic numerals and the decimal-based numeral system to Europe and whose treatise 'Al-Jabr' gave algebra its name.

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by over 1.5 million Muslims.

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight