The International Space Station

The International Space Station

The International Space Station (ISS) is a huge space science lab. It is operated (运行) and supported (支持) by the USA, Russia, and some other countries. It orbits (绕······运行) the Earth, about 400 kilometres above it.

On November 2, 2000, three astronauts began to work at it. Since then, it has never been empty. By November 2025, humans had lived and worked in space for twenty-five years.

It took about 16 years to design and build the first version(版本) of the ISS. When the first three astronauts arrived, the station was simple and had only three rooms. Now it is nearly as big as a football field. It has many labs, rooms and modules. It also has exercise machines and a special phone that allows(允许) astronauts to call home. The" cupola", with its glass windows, offers amazing views (景色) of the Earth.

The ISS was planned to work for 15 years. But it has lasted much longer. It' ll stop working in 2031 and fall into the atmosphere(大气层). Most of it will burn up as it falls. But people will always remember the International Space Station.