International Space Station: 20 years

With a total area equal to that of a football field, for 20 years it has been flying over our heads, 420 kilometers high, a set of laboratories called the International Space Station.

In English ISS (International Space Station), the station turned two decades since the first astronaut began to inhabit it. Since then at least two humans have always been up there, conducting a multitude of experiments thanks to the collaboration of the US (NASA), Russian (FKA), Japanese (JAXA), Canadian (CSA) and European (ESA) space agencies.

Its construction began in 1998, when the first module, still unmanned, was put into orbit, and has not stopped growing since then. Nowadays it weighs almost 420 tons and its dimensions exceed 110 meters in length by 88 in widthincluding solar panels, which provide energy to function.

Until date 240 astronauts have already passed by the International Space Station, who between experiment and experiment have been able to enjoy incredible views and, attention, 16 sunrises and sunsets every day, since the station travels at a speed of 28,000 kilometers per hour.

The ISS has grown in recent years with new modules (Photo: NASA).

The vast majority of ISS crew trips start here, at the Russian Baikonur Cosmodrome, where a rocket propels the Soyuz capsule that acts as a “taxi” to reach the station (Photo: NASA).

Two Russians and an American make up the station’s current crew, which dials number 64 (Photo: NASA).

The activity at the station is always hectic, there is no time to waste. In the photo, French astronaut David Saint-Jacques performs a botanical experiment on a previous mission (Photo: NASA).

Spacewalks are also common, especially to ensure maintenance of the entire station (Photo: NASA).

Image of one of the many daily sunrises that can be seen from the International Space Station (Photo: NASA).

Contrary to popular belief, astronauts don’t always eat dehydrated foods. This time it seems that after a ship with supplies arrives, they can enjoy fresh fruit (Photo: NASA).

From the station you can also see impressive terrestrial atmospheric phenomena such as this hurricane, Zeta, which hit the coasts of the United States in late October (Photo: NASA).

Spectacular image that the crew of the International Space Station took at night in the Iberian Peninsula in 2014. You can perfectly observe the most illuminated urban centers of Spain and Portugal (Photo: NASA).