On November 20th the International Space Station (ISS) celebrated its 10th year anniversary. The International Space Station (ISS) is a research facility currently being assembled in outer space, the on-orbit construction of which began in 1998. The space station is in a Low Earth Orbit and can be seen from Earth with the naked eye; it orbits at an altitude of approximately 350 km (190 mi) above the surface of the Earth, and travels at an average speed of 27,700 kilometres (17,210 mi) per hour, completing 15.7 orbits per day.
The space station is a joint project among the space agencies of the United States (NASA), Russia (RKA), Japan (JAXA), Canada (CSA) and eleven European countries (ESA). The Brazilian Space Agency (AEB, Brazil) participates through a separate contract with NASA. The Italian Space Agency similarly has separate contracts for various activities not done in the framework of ESA’s ISS works (where Italy also fully participates). China has reportedly expressed interest in the project, especially if it was able to work with the RKA, though it is not currently involved.
On the funny side, around May, the only toilet broke, leaving the astronauts in a really tough situation.
“Like any home anywhere the importance of having a working bathroom is obvious”, said NASA’s spokesman, Allard Beutel.
Also they have a interesting system to recycle the urine and transform it into drinking water. The following diagram explains that better.
Here are some pictures from the ISS and the Earth
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