🛰️ International Space Station (ISS)

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🌍 What is the ISS?

The International Space Station (ISS) is a huge space laboratory that orbits Earth.

• It flies about 400 km above Earth
• Astronauts live and work there
• It goes around Earth once every 90 minutes 🌎

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🤝 Who built it?

The ISS is a team project of many countries:

• 🇺🇸 USA (NASA)
• 🇷🇺 Russia (Roscosmos)
• 🇪🇺 Europe (ESA)
• 🇯🇵 Japan (JAXA)
• 🇨🇦 Canada (CSA)

That’s why it’s called International 🌍

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🕰️ When did the ISS start?

• 1998 → First part (module) was launched into space
• 2000 → Astronauts started living there continuously

👉 Since November 2000, humans have never left the ISS empty!

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🔬 What do astronauts do there?

• Study science in zero gravity
• Learn how the human body changes in space
• Test new technology for future missions (Moon & Mars 🚀)
• Observe Earth and space 🌌

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🛑 When will the ISS end its service?

• The ISS is planned to be retired around 2030

What will happen then?

• It will be safely brought down
• Burn up in Earth’s atmosphere 🌠
• Some parts may fall into the Pacific Ocean (far from people)

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🔮 What comes after the ISS?

• New private space stations
• NASA’s Gateway station near the Moon 🌙
• Future missions to Mars 🔴

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🌟 Fun facts for kids

• The ISS is as big as a football field 🏟️
• You can sometimes see it from Earth at night!
• Astronauts float because of microgravity

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🧠 Easy to remember

ISS started in 1998, people lived there from 2000, and it will retire around 2030

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📌 One-line summary

The International Space Station is a space lab where astronauts have lived since 2000, and it will finish its mission around 2030.

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