Mariano Tovar
THIS IS THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
The 'deserted island' where two NASA astronauts have been stranded
Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore traveled into space in June 2024 on a mission scheduled to last one week.
Several of the thrusters on their Boeing Starliner Calypso capsule failed during docking and the two were trapped in orbit.
During the 286 days they have been on the International Space Station, both have been engaged in maintenance and research.
Suni has added 12 hours and 30 minutes of spacewalks to her resume. She is already the woman who has spent the longest time walking in space, 62 hours and 6 minutes.
The ISS has a habitable space of 915.6 cubic meters, which would be equivalent to a six-bedroom house on Earth. With several uses:
Laboratory modules: there are several modules dedicated to scientific research, such as NASA's Destiny laboratory, ESA's Columbus laboratory and JAXA's Kibo lab.
Sleeping areas: Astronauts enjoy small individual cabins where they can sleep and have some privacy.
Work areas: there are control and monitoring stations, where astronauts perform their daily work and supervise experiments.
Common areas: there are areas, such as the galley and dining room where astronauts can eat, chat and relax from their daily activities.
Bathrooms: there are two bathrooms on board, one in the Russian segment and one in the US segment.
Gym: to maintain physical fitness, the ISS has exercise equipment such as a treadmill, an exercise bike and a resistance machine.