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KIDS: Our World!
EVAN: Globey, what's that spinning around your head?
What a second.
I think there's somebody's inside there. There is!
I know what that is. It's the International Space Station!
And it's orbiting our world as we speak!
Do you know why they call it the ďInternationalĒ
Space Station? It's because several nations across our
world have joined together for this huge project.
The countries and space agencies include the
United States (which has NASA), Russia (which has the
Russian Federal Space Agency), Japan
(with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency),
Canada (which has the Canadian Space Agency)
and 11 European nations which make up the European Space
Agency, that has headquarters in France.
All of these nations work together to build and run
the space station. American astronauts serve on the ISS
with astronauts from Germany, Russia, Japan, and Canada.
In fact astronauts from 16 different countries have
served on the International Space Station,
making it truly international.
Construction of the space station began in 1998.
Much of it is finished now, but there's still work to be
done. NASA is working hard to complete the station before
retiring the space shuttle. The huge cargo bay on the
shuttle is used to carry materials and large pieces
that are added to the ISS.
The International Space Station is the largest man-
made satellite that orbits Earth.
It travels around Earth at a speed of almost 28,000
kilometers per hour. That's around 17,500 miles per hour.
It means the space station can orbit around Earth
about 16 times everyday.
The space station is in a low Earth orbit, which means it's
not as high off the ground as other satellites like the
Hubble telescope. The ISS orbit is only about 350
kilometers off Earth's surface. That's about 220
miles. That seems like a very long way off,
but we can make a quick model to show you just how close
low Earth orbit really is.
Let's use this basketball for Earth in our model and this
softball for the Moon. Since the Moon is about 1/4th the
size of Earth, these two spheres are close to the
right scale. Using that scale, how far away do you
think the Moon should be from Earth? This far?
Maybe this far. Well, it just happens that the Moon
and our Earth have another unique relationship.
The distance between the two is 10 times the circumference
of Earth. Earth's circumference is the distance
around Earth at the equator.
We know Earth has a circumference of about 40,000
km. The distance to the Moon is 10 times that,
or about 400,000 km. We can use a string to place the
Moon in our model. If we wrap a string around the
basketball ten times and stretch it out, we can see
how far away the Moon should be. Now where on this string
do you think we'd find the International Space Station?
Half way? A fourth of the way? Actually, it's much
closer. Using this scale the ISS would be less than 1 cm
from the surface of Earth or just about here.
Because the space station reflects the Sun's light and
because it's in a low orbit, it shines in the sky.
In fact, if you were in the right place and at the
right time, you could see the space station
without having to use a telescope.
You can tack the ISS on NASA's website.
So you can go outside as it passes overhead, look up and
see it for yourself. It may look like a bright fast
moving star in the sky.
The space station has giant solar panels that absorb the
Sun's light and convert that light into electricity.
This electricity is used to power the space station.
And because the space station's position to the Sun
is constantly changing since it's orbiting Earth,
its panels are able to rotate and adjust to make sure they
are always capturing the sun's light.
Astronauts aboard the ISS use the solar power to make the
electricity needed for living and working in orbit.
Scientists from all over the world can use the space
station to conduct long term experiments.
The US part of the space station has been classified
as a national laboratory which will help scientists
learn new things in science, technology,
engineering and mathematics.
One of the most important things they want to study is
the effects of outer space on the human body.
Our bodies change because of the reduced gravity in space.
NASA conducting experiments to help us understand more
about these changes and how to overcome them.
And there is no better place to explore these problems
than the ISS. The station offers a big advantage over
NASA space shuttles because astronauts can stay on the
space station for much longer periods of time.
Research conducted in space has taught doctors and
scientist that astronauts need to exercise to stop
bone and muscle loss. Scientists have learned much
about sleep problems by studying the sleep habits of
astronauts as they experience very fast day and night
cycles because of the speed of the ISS's movement.
What the doctor's and scientists learned in space
can also be applied to the same problems on Earth.
Astronauts and scientists from around the world are
working together on the International Space Station
to solve problems and to prove new ideas. By working
together, they can accomplish some pretty amazing things.
Hey Globey, I wonder when the ISS is going to
pass over my head.
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KIDS: Our World!