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Take a Virtual Tour of the International Space Station (Video)

Here's your chance to see what the inside of the ISS is actually like.

Not everyone will get the chance to explore space, but this virtual tour of the International Space Station (ISS) comes pretty close.

Google Arts & Culture is a treasure trove for the history, art, and science lover. This platform has been around for a few years, but since the coronavirus outbreak started it has become a must-see for anyone who wants to enrich themselves during lockdown.

Virtual tours of museums, national parks, and popular tourist attractions have certainly been excellent ways to educate and entertain yourself at home, but there’s another collection of online tours and exhibits that space and science lovers should definitely see — including a 360-degree tour of the ISS .

This virtual tour uses Google Street View to explore the space station as if you’re really inside it. Move through the narrow tunnels, see the massive amounts of equipment, and generally experience what it’s like to be a real astronaut.

In addition, there are lots of other ways to explore space on Google Arts & Culture. One fascinating online exhibit is dedicated to the moon landing (which is coming up on its 51st anniversary this year). Take a deeper dive into the Apollo space program by exploring the hundreds of photos from the Apollo 11 mission, as well as stories on the Columbia Memorial Space Center and the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.

Google Arts & Culture also has an amazing fact sheet that details 10 “out-of-this-world” facts about the International Space Station (ISS), which is perfect to help kids supplement their online learning experience while most schools are closed. Plus, there is a collection of eight truly stunning photographs from space that will make you appreciate our little blue planet even more.

There are also dozens of specific online exhibits to choose from, such as an exhibit focused on women in space, an exploration of aviation history, and a collection of videos that are all about space exploration.

For more information, take the virtual tour, or see an online space exhibit, visit the Space Exploration page on Google Arts & Culture.

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Let this astronaut show you around the International Space Station

Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen made a ‘keepsake’ tour video before returning to Earth.

By Andrew Paul | Published Apr 12, 2024 1:00 PM EDT

Andreas Mogensen returned to Earth in mid-March after a six-and-a-half month stint aboard the International Space Station . To mark his tenure as part of NASA’s Crew-7 mission, the Danish European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut has shared his souvenir from undock day—a guided video tour of the ISS.

It’s been a month now since I left the International @Space_Station . One of the very last things that I did on undock day, was film a tour of the Space Station. It is as much a keepsake for me as it is a way for me to share the wonder of the International Space Station with you.… pic.twitter.com/oFR0VXR06A — Andreas Mogensen (@Astro_Andreas) April 12, 2024

“It’s been a month now since I left the [ISS],” Mogensen posted to X early Friday morning. “… It is as much a keepsake for me as it is a way for me to share the wonder of the International Space Station with you. Whenever I will miss my time onboard ISS, and especially my crewmates, I will have this video to look at.”

Mogensen began his show-and-tell in the space station’s front end, above which a docked SpaceX Dragon craft awaited to take him home on March 12. On his left is the roughly 114-by-22-foot Columbus module—a science laboratory provided by the ESA back in 2008. Across from the lab is the smaller Japanese Experiment Module (JEM), nicknamed Kibō, which arrived not long after Columbus.

From there, Mogensen provides a first-person look at various other ISS facilities, including workstations, storage units, bathrooms, gym equipment, multiple docking nodes, and even the station kitchen. Of course, given the delicate environment, that module looks more like another lab than an actual place to cook meals—presumably because, well, no one is actually cooking anything up there.

But the most stunning area in the entire ISS is undoubtedly the cupola, which provides a 360-degree panoramic view of Earth, as well as a decent look at the space station’s overall size.

[Related: What a total eclipse looks like from the ISS .]

Speaking of which, Mogenen’s video also does a great job showcasing just how comparatively small the ISS really is, even after over 25 years of module and equipment additions. At 356-feet-long, it’s just one yard shy of the length of a football field, but any given module or transit space is only a few feet wide. Factor in the copious amounts of cargo, equipment, supplies, experiment materials, as well as the over 8-miles of cabling that wire its electrical systems, and it makes for pretty tight living conditions. Near the end of Mogensen’s tour, it only takes him a little over a minute to glide through most of the entire station back to his original starting point.

Of course, none of that undercuts one of humanity’s most monumental achievements in space exploration. Although the ISS is nearing the end of its tenure (it’s scheduled for decommission in 2031 ), Mogensen’s keepsake is a great document of what life is like aboard the habitat. But for those now looking for an even more detailed tour, there’s always NASA’s virtual walkthrough .

Andrew Paul is Popular Science's staff writer covering tech news. Previously, he was a regular contributor to The A.V. Club and Input, and has had recent work also featured by Rolling Stone, Fangoria, GQ, Slate, NBC, as well as McSweeney's Internet Tendency. He lives outside Indianapolis.

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International Space Station Grand Tour [1+ Hour Video]

The European Space Agency has published an amazing grand tour of the International Space Station (ISS). ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano and NASA astronaut Drew Morgan take you on a 1+ hour unique tour of the orbiting laboratory.

This amazing grand tour of the ISS was shot in one take with two cameras strapped together. Astronauts Parmitano and Morgan take it in turns to guide you through the modules of the station and even the Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft docked to the orbital outpost .

This is the first tour of the International Space Station with two astronauts presenting and the first done in a single take. At the time this video was shot (around the New Year 2020), there were 6 astronauts/cosmonauts aboard the station and you can see passing colleagues include NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch exercising (who performed the first-ever all-female spacewalk in October 2019) and Russian cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Skripochka.

At the time of recording, there were three supply vehicles were docked at the station , the Russian Progress MS-13, SpaceX’s Dragon-19 , and Northrup Grumman’s Cygnus-12, as well as two crew vehicles, the Soyuz MS-15 and Soyuz MS-13.

The map overlay graphic erroneously shows the future Nauka module instead of Pirs. The Russian Multipurpose Laboratory Module Nauka is planned for launch in the future and will replace Pirs, but it was mistakenly put on the map already (see notes 1).

“No matter how many times you see you look outside, the view is never the same. It’s always different. The light may be different, the time of the year may be different, the clouds are always different, and, with a little bit of luck, we will be different too.” Luca Parmitano

Grand tour of the International Space Station – timestamps

You can skip to specific modules or features using the timestamps below.

• 0:00:00 Soyuz MS-15: Launched on September 25, 2019, it carried two members of the Expedition 61 crew, NASA astronaut Jessica Meir and the Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka, and a short duration visiting crew member, Emirati astronaut Hazza Al Mansouri to the International Space Station. Mansouri became the first person from the United Arab Emirates in space. He returned back to Earth aboard Soyuz MS-12 with Aleksey Ovchinin and Nick Hague on October 3, ending Expedition 60. (Related: Journey to the International Space Station with Soyuz Spacecraft )
• Length: 43 feet (13.1 meters)
• Diameter: 13.5 feet (4.1 meters)
• Solar Array Span: 97.5 feet (29.7 meters)
• Mass: 54,242 pounds (24,604 kg)
• Attitude control: 32 engines
• Orbital maneuvering: 2 engines
• Length: 16 feet (4.9 meters)
• Diameter: 8.4 feet (2.6 meters)
• Mass: 8,461 pounds (3,838 kg)

Related: See International Space Station Modules 360-Degree

• Mass: 8,367 pounds (3,795 kg)
• 0:10:30 Soyuz MS-13: Launched on 20 July 2019, the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing , Soyuz MS-13 carried three members of the Expedition 50 to the International Space Station: Aleksandr Skvortsov, Luca Parmitano, and Andrew R. Morgan. It carried Christina Koch instead of Morgan back home on February 20, 2020.
• 0:11:44 Mini Research Module-2 (MRM-2)
• 0:12:27 Progress spacecraft: It is a Russian expendable cargo spacecraft that delivers supplies to the International Space Station.
• Length: 41.2 feet (12.5 meters)
• Mass: 42,600 pounds (19,323 kg)
• Length: 19.7 feet (6 meters)
• Diameter: 7.7 feet (2.3 meters)
• Mass: 11,188 pounds (5.074 kg)

Related: 20 years of the International Space Station – What we’ve learned about living in space

• 0:19:36 Pressurized Mating Adapter (PMA): It is a class of spacecraft adapters that convert the Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM) used on the U.S. Orbital Segment to APAS-95 docking ports. APAS (Androgynous Peripheral Attach System) was selected for the Space Shuttle-Mir program and manufactured by the Russian aerospace company RKK Energiya. Energia’s code for the Shuttle APAS is APAS-95. The system was also selected to join the American and Russian modules on the International Space Station and to allow the Space Shuttle to dock. Thanks to this, Shuttle’s Orbiter Docking System remained unchanged from when it was used for the Shuttle-Mir Program in 1995.
• Length: 18 feet (5.5 meters)
• Diameter: 14 feet (4.2 meters)
• Mass: 26,225 pounds (11,895 kg)
• 0:22:46 Northrop Grumman Cygnus NG-12: It was the 12th flight of the Northrop Grumman robotic resupply spacecraft Cygnus to the International Space Station under the Commercial Resupply Services 2 (CRS-2) contract with NASA.
• 0:27:32 Quest Joint Airlock: Launched on July 14, itn is the primary airlock for the International Space Station. Quest was designed to host spacewalks with both NASA’s Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuits and the Russian Orlan space suits.
• Length: 22 feet (6.7 meters)
• Diameter: 14 feet (4.3 meters)
• Mass: 39,665 pounds (17,992 kg)
• 0:30:58 T2 Colbert Treadmill: The T2 Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill, or Colbert is adapted from a regular treadmill but designed so as not to shake the rest of the Station. This vibration damping system does not use power and hence makes it more reliable. The astronauts use elastic straps over the shoulders and round the waist to keep them in contact with the running belt and generate the foot force necessary to give the astronaut’s bones and muscles a workout in weightlessness. The treadmill is also wider than the TVIS treadmill in the Zvezda Module. Although it is built to handle 240,000 km of running, it will likely see about 60,000 km during its time in orbit.
• 0:31:17 Toilet
• Height: 4.7 feet (1.4 meters)
• Diameter: 9.8 feet (3 meters)
• Mass: 4,136 pounds (1,876 kg)
• 0:34:11 Permanent Multipurpose Module Leonardo (PMM): Launched on February 24, 2011, and installed on March 1, it is primarily used for storage of spares, supplies and waste on the Intrenational Space Station.
• Length: 28 feet (8.5 meters)
• Diameter: 14 feet ()
• Mass: 32,000 pounds ()
• Scientific racks: 13
• System racks: 11
• perform Station maintenance
• move supplies, equipment, Dextre (also known as the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM), is a two armed robot, or telemanipulator, which is part of the Mobile Servicing System) and even astronauts/cosmonauts
• perform “cosmic catches” by grappling visiting vehicles and berthing them to the International Space Station
• 0:38:40 Exercise bike: The International Space Station has an exercise bike which is used for endurance training. The exercise bike used by the European and American astronauts on the space station is called the Cycle Ergometer with Vibration Isolation and Stabilization, or CEVIS. Cosmonauts also have a cycle called VELO. These stationary bikes provide bone strength exercise for the legs. When the large leg muscles work they need more blood. Working muscles stimulate the heart to pump more blood, and you breathe faster to get more oxygen in. Cycle training on the International Space Station also maintains endurance and cardio-vascular fitness of the crew.
• Mass: 32,599 pounds (14,787 kg)
• 0:44:40 SpaceX Dragon: Also known as Dragon 1 or Cargo Dragon is a partially reusable cargo spacecraft (see notes 3).
• Length: 22.6 feet (6.9 meters)
• Diameter: 14.7 feet (4.5 meters)
• Mass: 22,700 pounds (10,297 kg)
• Payload racks: 10
• ​Length: 13.9 feet (4.2 meters)
• Diameter: 14.4 feet (4.4 meters)
• Mass: 4,200 pounds (1,905 kg)
• ​Length: 36.7 feet (11.2 meters)
• Mass: 35,050 pounds (15,898 kg)
• ​Length: 18.4 feet (5.6 meters)
• Width: 13.1 feet (4 meters)
• Mass: 9,038 pounds (4,100 kg)
• 0:56:17 Space Station fly through
• 1:00:43 Cupola daytime
• 1:04:27 Goodbye from Cupola

• Nauka module was launched on July 21, 2021, and uccessfully docked to the International Space Station on July 29, 2021. Also known as the Multipurpose Laboratory Module-Upgrade (MLM-U), it is funded by the Roscosmos .
• Pirs module was docked to the Zvezda module for almost 20 years, until 26 July 2021. It was decommissioned and undocked by Progress MS-16 to make room for the new Nauka module.
• SpaceX developed a second version called Dragon 2, which is capable of transporting humans .
• International Space Station mission page on the NASA website
• International Space Station Assembly on the NASA website
• International Space Station on Wikipedia
• Nauka (ISS module) on Wikipedia
• Zvezda (ISS module)  on Wikipedia
• Pirs (ISS module) on Wikipedia
• Poisk (ISS module) on Wikipedia
• Soyuz MS-13 on Wikipedia
• Pressurized Mating Adapter on Wikipedia
• Cygnus NG-12 on Wikipedia
• T2 Colbert Treadmill on the European Space Agency website
• Recent Posts

• Space Shuttle Endeavour’s Touchdown Meets Columbia’s Salute [An amazing photo from the past] - February 29, 2024
• Moon Landings: All-Time List [1966-2024] - February 23, 2024
• From Orbit to Ordinary: 10 Earthly Applications of Space Technology - January 23, 2024

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Take a video tour of the International Space Station

NASA has released a 4K video of footage filmed inside the ISS, perhaps a preview of the space tourism that's to come in the near future. 

• By Ben Rosen Staff

November 2, 2016

To travel to the International Space Station (ISS), you could train for tens of thousands of hours with NASA to become an astronaut. Or you could just watch it on ultra-HD, 4K video.

NASA has released ultra-high-definition video of footage filmed with a fisheye lens of inside the space station. The fisheye lens, which provides extreme focus and depth-of-field, improves the viewing experience.

The video comes as there is increasing fascination among Earthlings in space travel and the hope of visiting space themselves. Millions have liked NASA and other space agencies' social media posts of the views from space, watched Facebook videos of spacewalks, and chatted with astronauts while they floated above Earth. And on the horizon are commercial and tourism ventures to bring private citizens to low-orbit and space.

For now, though, we’ll have to settle for the ultra-HD preview.

The 60-frames-per-second video offers views inside the ISS and its equipment. The ISS is a metallic abode for up to six astronauts living in orbit 249 miles above Earth and is full of scientific equipment. The 18-minute video , produced by Harmonic for NASA TV UHD, was released by the space agency on Oct. 27.

The non-narrated tour with ambient background music slowly glides through equipment- and wired-filled rooms until it ends with gazing out at planet Earth beyond the space station windows. 

NASA and other space agencies regularly post content online , and the ISS is outfitted with HD cameras. But NASA and private companies are fast upgrading their offerings.

Space VR, a private company, plans to send its first virtual reality (VR) satellite into orbit in 2017, soon offering footage that can be viewed on smartphones or virtual reality headsets. SpaceVR is building a VR satellite, outfitted with 4,000 image sensors for high-resolution 3-D video , The Christian Science Monitor reported recently. The company will combine footage from each camera in the rig to produce a 360-degree video. Through its partnership with aeronautics supplier NanoRacks, Space VR will have the satellite launched from the ISS.

NanoRacks began working with SpaceVR in 2015 and has since partnered with Blue Origin, the private aerospace company started by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

"SpaceVR promises to open a new era in connecting consumers worldwide to the beauty of outer space, and we are ready to be part of that effort," said Jeffrey Manber, chief executive officer of NanoRacks, in a statement.

Blue Origin is also one of a number of companies that are in a race to bring private citizens to space. Many of these companies seek to bring space tourists into low-orbit, with these hopeful passengers willing to pay as much as $250,000 a seat. Virgin Galactic, founded by Richard Branson, has already sold tickets to about 700 people to become some of the first tourists to travel to space – or at least to low orbit, The Christian Science Monitor reported in February. The travel log includes celebrities Stephen Hawking, Brad Pitt, and Katy Perry. Virgin Galactic received an operator’s license from US regulators in August to resume testing of its SpaceShipTwo craft, after a previous model was destroyed in a fatal accident in 2014, that resulted in the death of one pilot and severe injuries to the other.

Virgin Galactic has not yet announced when the vehicle will make its first test flight, but chief executive officer George Whitesides told Fortune in May that the company hopes to send satellites , if not people, into space by 2017. 

Two private companies also announced in October they will have facilities available by 2020 as part of a NASA program to use the ISS for commercial space activities. The two companies are Bigelow Aerospace and Axiom Space.

The companies have said private spaceflight will allow NASA to turn its attention to reaching Mars while allowing more people than ever to experience space.

"Hopefully, if we're successful in the private-sector community, NASA's going to save a boatload of money, on multiple locations [in orbit] – not just one – with more volume than they've ever had before ," Bigelow founder and chief executive Robert Bigelow said in October.

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Check out this stunning cinematic tour of the International Space Station

Broadcasts from the International Space Station (ISS) more often than not come from a fixed location aboard the orbiting satellite, with the astronauts usually the center of attention.

A fabulous new 18-minute video (below) from NASA, however, makes the space station itself the star of the show, taking viewers on a fascinating tour of its myriad of modules and facilities – all presented in ultra-high definition.

Described by NASA as “larger than a six-bedroom house,” the space station has been permanently crewed since 2000. However, don’t expect to see any astronauts in the video – the entire crew, which can consist of up to ten people, all remain well out of shot throughout.

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The gentle fisheye-lens flythrough, which comes with a hypnotically soothing soundtrack, begins in the space station’s seven-window Cupola observatory module, the place where astronauts come to ponder life, the universe, and everything. Or simply to grab a few jaw-dropping shots of Earth .

So that we know exactly what we’re looking at, written explanations appear throughout the video alongside a small map of the entire station highlighting our precise location.

The Destiny Module is particularly impressive, with the small space absolutely choc full of gear, among it a robotic workstation used to control the Canadarm2 outside the space station. We also get to visit the Columbus Science Laboratory, home to the bioloab used for experiments with microorganisms, cells, and plants .

The high production values certainly give the video a cinematic feel, so much so that you half expect a Hollywood A-lister – or perhaps more dramatically an absurdly hideous, troublemaking alien – to fly into shot, with a jarring switch of soundtrack launching us into a full-on action sequence. But instead we’re offered a serene, gentle-paced tour that shows off the space station in incredible detail. Look out for the waiting meal inside the Unity Module, the astronaut’s sleeping quarters, the microgravity glovebox for conducting experiments with hazardous materials, and the airlock where U.S. space walks start and finish. Heck, we even get to see the metal canisters used for storing human waste!

While the European Space Agency recently offered up some great panoramic images from inside the ISS, the NASA video, with its pin-sharp pictures and POV travel through the satellite, gives us Earth-based space fans the best idea yet of what it must be like to actually be on board the International Space Station.

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SpaceX’s Crew-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) launched from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A at just after 3:50 a.m. ET (12:50 a.m. PT) on Wednesday, April 27.

NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, and Jessica Watkins, along with Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency, are now on their way to the orbiting outpost with docking expected to take place on Wednesday evening. The crew will spend the next six months living and working aboard the station 250 miles above Earth.

NASA Live: Official Stream of NASA TV

NASA and SpaceX are making final preparations for the launch of four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A. The Crew-4 astronauts were originally supposed to launch on Saturday, April 23, but due to the late departure from the ISS of the Ax-1 mission, the mission won't get underway until Wednesday, April 27, at the earliest.

European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Matthias Maurer has shared a video showing how he prepares for a night’s sleep aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

As you might expect, the routine is much like it is on Earth -- except for all of the floating around and other challenges caused by the microgravity conditions.

Take a Grand Tour of International Space Station

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A 25-minute tour of the International Space Station with astronaut Sunita Williams

In her final days as Commander of the International Space Station, Sunita Williams of NASA recorded an extensive tour of the orbital laboratory and downlinked the video on Nov. 18 , just hours before she, cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and Flight Engineer Aki Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency departed in their Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft for a landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan. The tour includes scenes of each of the station’s modules and research facilities with a running narrative by Williams of the work that has taken place and which is ongoing aboard the orbital outpost.

This ISS tour is so good… 25 minutes of it!

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Tour of the International Space Station

During their missions to the International Space Station, ESA astronauts Pedro Duque and André Kuipers each recorded a tour of the Station. The streaming videos can be replayed using Windows Media Player or QuickTime, simply click on one of the links below.

ISS tour with Pedro Duque (October 2003)

ISS tour André Kuipers (April 2004)

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China unveils video of its moon base plans, which weirdly includes a NASA space shuttle

The video details an expansive lunar outpost, but curiously includes CGI of a NASA space shuttle taking off from the moon's surface.

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) has released a video of its concept for a lunar base to be developed across the next couple of decades.

CNSA unveiled the video on Wednesday (April 24) as part of the country's annual space day celebrations. The project is known as the International Lunar Research Station ( ILRS ) and was jointly announced in 2021 by China and Russia. 

China is now leading the moon base initiative and attempting to attract international partners for the endeavor. So far, alongside China, Russia, Venezuela, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Belarus, South Africa, Egypt, Thailand and Nicaragua have joined the initiative, according to Space News .

Related: Not just Artemis: China and Russia plan to put boots on the moon, too

The video shows a number of missions, including surface sample return operations, a lander and rover, and supporting orbital satellites. These correspond to the planned Chang'e-6 and 7 missions planned for launch next month and in 2027 respectively. 

Together with Chang'e-8 , these will form a basic model of the ILRS by around 2028. Next will come communications, power generation and other infrastructure, which will be built on and developed into an expansive, inhabited lunar outpost. 

The project is envisioned as a comprehensive scientific experimental base which will host interdisciplinary and multi-objective research activities focusing on lunar exploration and utilization, according to Chinese reports. It will be capable of long-term independent operation, either on the lunar surface or in lunar orbit.

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"The moon serves as a starting point, and an international lunar research station will provide a platform for long-term scientific research, work and habitation, paving the way for future human exploration into deeper space. It will serve as a technological, material, and intellectual reservoir, preparing us for future missions to Mars and other distant destinations in space," Wu Weiren, chief designer of China's lunar exploration program, told China Central Television (CCTV) on Wednesday.

Wu says the ILRS will be constructed in two phases. The first will establish comprehensive scientific facilities with basic functions and essential supporting elements around the lunar south pole by 2035. The second phase will set about building a well-equipped and stable facility of considerable scale by 2045.

One curious detail of the video is the presence of a retired NASA Space Shuttle appearing to lift off from a launch pad in the background. 

Boom problem solved. CGTN went ahead and slapped an ol' reliable blur bar over the Shuttle https://t.co/GltGw0c17x pic.twitter.com/bkuBT86YaN April 25, 2024

 —  China to launch sample-return mission to the moon's far side on May 3

 — Are we prepared for Chinese preeminence on the moon and Mars? (op-ed)

— China releases world's most detailed moon atlas (video)

The shuttle was retired in 2011, NASA is largely prohibited from cooperating with Chinese entities and has its own Artemis Program , while China is also developing its own large and reusable launch vehicles for lunar exploration.

China designated April 24 as its 'Space Day' in 2016 to mark the occasion of the launch of its first satellite, Dongfanghong-1, into space in 1970, and signal the country’s growing ambitions for, and value of, space.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

Andrew is a freelance space journalist with a focus on reporting on China's rapidly growing space sector. He began writing for Space.com in 2019 and writes for SpaceNews, IEEE Spectrum, National Geographic, Sky & Telescope, New Scientist and others. Andrew first caught the space bug when, as a youngster, he saw Voyager images of other worlds in our solar system for the first time. Away from space, Andrew enjoys trail running in the forests of Finland. You can follow him on Twitter  @AJ_FI .

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China reveals plans to 'settle down' on the Moon before 2045 in new video

The china national space administration has revealed its plans to construct a high-tech, diverse lunar base over the next few decades..

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) and its partners plan to build a base on the moon's surface that will serve as an international research facility for lunar-based objectives and exploration.

China's space agency has released a new video showcasing its plan to construct a high-tech lunar base that will act as an outpost for all lunar-based research, sample ferrying back to Earth, and exploration out into the lunar desert by astronauts. The project is called the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) and was announced by China and Russia in 2021. The project has already attracted international partners such as Venezuela, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Belarus, South Africa, Egypt, Thailand and Nicaragua.

The video shows off various missions being carried out such as sample return missionsd, landers and rovers moving about, communications arrays, power sources being constructed and much more. Surprisingly, the video shows off an old NASA Space Shuttle taking off from the surface of the moon, which was retired by the American space agency back in 2011.

" On April 24, a press conference on China's Shenzhou-18 manned spaceflight mission was held at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The mission's three astronauts made their collective debut yesterday. The China National Space Administration also announced the latest progress of the lunar exploration project, " writes the China Global Television Network (CGTN)

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Bacteria on the ISS has mutated into something never seen on Earth

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In 2018, scientists discovered something unexpected lurking aboard the International Space Station . This unexpected visitor turned out to be five strains of a multi-drug-resistant bacteria known to cause Enterobacter bugandensis. Now, though, researchers say at least 13 strains have been discovered. This means that the original strains have mutated into several new strains of bacteria never before seen on Earth.

Of course, it’s impossible for any human to never come into contact with bacteria. However, with so many types linked to various illnesses, verifying what kind of bacteria is around, especially in essential places like the ISS, is important. Because the ISS is such a heavily controlled environment, the discovery of these new strains of bacteria has raised some intriguing questions about future space travel efforts.

A new study released in March looks in-depth at the new strains discovered aboard the ISS. This bacteria is an opportunistic pathogen, which means it will only cause disease in a person if they are already battling a disease or have a weakened immune system. Luckily, astronauts aboard the ISS are put through rigorous testing, so that isn’t often the case. But, as these astronauts spend more time in space, their immune systems weaken, which could give the bacteria a place to latch on.

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The researchers involved in the study believe that the unique environment that the bacteria found aboard the ISS could be what is driving it to mutate into bacteria never seen on Earth before. The hope is that these findings will help discover more about the microbial ecosystem dynamics within the ISS to help researchers come up with new ways to mitigate these threats going forward.

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A hunk of space junk crashed through his roof in Florida. Who should pay to fix it?

Bill Chappell

In March 2021, mission controllers in Houston used the Canadarm2 robotic arm to release an external pallet packed with old nickel-hydrogen batteries from the International Space Station. Three years later, part of that assembly struck a house in Naples, Fla. NASA hide caption

In March 2021, mission controllers in Houston used the Canadarm2 robotic arm to release an external pallet packed with old nickel-hydrogen batteries from the International Space Station. Three years later, part of that assembly struck a house in Naples, Fla.

Alejandro Otero was out of town on vacation last month when his son called from their house in Naples, Fla., to tell him something shocking and incredible. His son, 19, had been home alone when he heard an extremely loud crash — and realized it came from inside the house.

"When he called me to give me the news, he asked us to make sure we were sitting down to hear when he had to tell us," Otero told NPR.

"He wasn't even sure how to tell me what happened and we had to look and listen to the security cameras to try to piece together what caused the loud crashing noise," he said. "It looked like it caused the whole house to shake, so we weren't sure if there had been an earthquake or what. When he saw the hole coming through the house, he realized something fell through."

Mystery object is finally identified

After rushing back home, Otero called the sheriff's department — and a deputy who came to the house pulled a hunk of metal out of the floorboards.

"It was not like anything I had ever seen before," Otero said.

He quickly realized the object wasn't a meteorite. It was cylindrical, and while one end was melted by the heat of reentry, the other had a smooth round shape with a circular indentation. A shallow and uniform groove ran down its side.

The space junk was supposed to disintegrate in the atmosphere — it didn't

Otero set out to learn what the object was , posting images and video online. He landed on a likely, yet extraordinary, suspect: a large battery pallet from the International Space Station that NASA released for an uncontrolled reentry , three years ago.

The European Space Agency had warned that the batteries and pallet would reenter the atmosphere in the early afternoon of March 8. Otero's house was hit that day, shortly after 2:30 p.m. ET.

NASA says this stanchion, at right, had been expected to burn up during reentry, but instead it struck a man's house in Florida. The object is seen here next to another stanchion in pristine shape, at left. NASA hide caption

"The location of the reentry was predicted by the 18th Space Defense Squadron to be in the Gulf of Mexico," the Aerospace Corporation , a research and development nonprofit that advises the U.S. government, said in a statement to NPR. "Naples FL was directly downrange of that location and in the direction that the debris would have been traveling."

NASA retrieved the object from Otero's home, and it recently confirmed the object was part of the battery pallet — a remnant of some 5,800 pounds of hardware — that was jettisoned from the space station. The "space object" was a stanchion, NASA said, that held the batteries on a cargo pallet. The surviving object was a little smaller than a soda can and made of Inconel , a superalloy that is strong and heat-resistant.

"We feel very lucky and blessed"

When the object hit Otero's house in southwest Florida, his son was just a couple rooms over from the impact point.

"We can't help but think about what could have happened if it came through just a little to the right or to the left, how much more disastrous the situation could have been," Otero said. "We feel very lucky and blessed that everyone was OK."

But the incident also prompted immediate concerns — from how to deal with a hole in the roof to whether the object might be dangerous or toxic. For a while, Otero's son was on his own.

"Being alone at the house was worrisome, because he didn't know if the debris was hazardous (or what it was)," Otero said via email. That concern grew, Otero said, when he later realized the object may have been linked to a power module used in space.

Where Falling Satellite Lands Is Anyone's Guess

"Once NASA got in touch with us, my lawyer asked for reasonable assurance from them that the item was not toxic or hazardous," Otero said. "NASA was able to give that assurance," he added, and his family was relieved when the agency didn't send people in hazmat suits to retrieve the object.

"The hardware was expected to fully burn up during entry through Earth's atmosphere," NASA said after conducting its analysis. The agency is working to figure out how part of it hit Otero's house, adding that it may need to tweak the engineering models it uses to estimate how objects break up during atmospheric reentry.

The incident highlights concerns over the amount of space junk in Earth's orbit, and it raises a rare and complicated question: Who should pay to repair a home that's hit by debris plummeting from orbit?

Filing a claim on damage from a space object

When asked how much damage the space object caused, Otero says his homeowners' insurance set the adjusted cost at more than $15,000, adding that he's also been evaluating other damages not covered by insurance.

"We are in the process of sending NASA our claim which will include the insurance and non-insurance damages," he says, adding that his lawyer has been in touch with NASA's legal counsel.

Otero says his insurer quickly helped in bringing in contractors to do repair work.

The International Space Station had to move to dodge space junk

So, who might finally be held liable for this sort of damage, when an object launched into space crashes into someone's home?

"This is kind of unprecedented," Mark Sundahl, who has worked in space law for more than 20 years, told NPR. Determining liability in such cases can be complicated, he said.

"It will depend on whose module of the space station that came from," said Sundahl, who is the director of the Global Space Law Center at Cleveland State University.

"We have an international convention on liability for damage caused by outer space objects . It's from 1972. So we have rules in place."

If space debris falls back to Earth, Sundahl said, "The launching state is absolutely liable for any damage to property or persons that occurs on the surface of the Earth."

Space Junk: How Cluttered Is The Final Frontier?

"There's a different rule for [incidents] in space," he added. "If one satellite hits another satellite there, it's not absolute strict liability — you have to show fault. But when something lands on an innocent person and it's in their house, there's strict liability."

But, Sundahl added, if the object in question turns out to be part of a U.S. module, "then the international law no longer applies. It becomes a domestic legal issue, and a homeowner would have to bring a tort action against the federal government."

In the Naples incident, the object seems to be of U.S. origin: NASA says the stanchion came from "NASA flight support equipment." The agency didn't immediately respond to an inquiry from NPR about possible liability.

Has anything like this happened before?

"We had a major accident" involving an object falling out of orbit decades ago, Sundahl said.

In 1978, a Soviet satellite, Kosmos 954 , "disintegrated over Canada and scattered radioactive fuel across the country," he said. "And they helped clean it up — in accordance with international law, they paid expenses."

About once every week, Europe's space agency says, a large space object reenters the atmosphere, "with the majority of the associated fragments burning up before reaching the ground."

A Russian missile creates enough space junk to pose risk to astronauts for years

There have been many cases of space-program debris reentering Earth's atmosphere and not burning up completely before falling to the surface, Sundahl says. But those usually fall into the ocean; he's not aware of any confirmed reports of man-made space objects causing damage as in Florida recently.

There is at least one documented case of a person being hurt by something falling from the heavens. A woman in Alabama was struck by a meteorite that crashed into her home in 1954 ( she survived with a bruise ) — but that case didn't involve space debris. And in 1997, an Oklahoma woman was outside when she was tapped on her shoulder by a piece of mesh from a Delta II rocket.

"So this is something new," in Florida, said Sundahl, whose group recently hosted a symposium on threats posed by orbital debris. The U.S. is currently tracking nearly 45,000 objects in orbit, including some 18,800 pieces of space debris, according to Space-Track.org , U.S. Space Command's public website.

"I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that that's the greatest existing threat to humanity's use of outer space, that we're polluting the orbits to the extent where it could become difficult to use them at all," Sundahl said.

He says he's "very optimistic" that changes to law and policies can reduce or eliminate threats to orbit-based systems.

"We're all so reliant on space infrastructure in so many different ways," he said.

The International Space Station retires soon. NASA won't run its future replacement.

The International Space Station, which is roughly the size of a football field, is itself the subject of a "deorbit" plan , as it nears the end of its useful life after more than two decades of continuous human occupancy. NASA says the station will remain operational until at least 2030, and it's planning on "a controlled re-entry, targeted into a remote, uninhabited area in the ocean."

As for Otero, he says, "There are a lot of lessons to be learned from this event. I hope no one else has to go through this. It was really scary for our whole family and we are just very grateful that no one got physically hurt."

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Nasa releases its first international space station tour in spanish.

Abbey A. Donaldson

Nasa headquarters.

Lee esta nota de prensa en español aquí .

Record-breaking NASA astronaut Frank Rubio provides the agency’s first Spanish-language video tour of humanity’s home in space – the International Space Station.

Rubio welcomes the public aboard the microgravity science laboratory in a behind-the-scenes look at living and working in space recorded during his 371-day mission aboard the space station, the longest single spaceflight in history by an American.

The station tour is available to watch on the agency’s NASA+ streaming platform, NASA app , NASA Television, YouTube , and the agency’s website .

Continuously inhabited for more than 23 years, the space station is a scientific platform where crew members conduct experiments across multiple disciplines of research, including Earth and space science, biology, human physiology, physical sciences, and technology demonstrations that could not be performed on Earth.

The crew living aboard the station are the hands of thousands of researchers on the ground conducting more than 3,300 experiments in microgravity. During his record-breaking mission, Rubio spent many hours contributing to scientific activities aboard the orbiting laboratory, conducting everything from human health studies to plant research.

Rubio returned to Earth in September, having completed approximately 5,936 orbits of the Earth and a journey of more than 157 million miles during his first spaceflight, roughly the equivalent of 328 trips to the Moon and back.

Get the latest NASA space station news, images and features on Instagram , Facebook , and X .

Keep up with the International Space Station, its research, and crew at:

https://www.nasa.gov/station

María José Viñas Headquarters, Washington 240-458-0248 [email protected]

Chelsey Ballarte Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 [email protected]

A first-timer's guide to Saskatoon, Canada

Apr 26, 2024 • 6 min read

From timing your visit right to planning your activities, here's our first-timer's guide to Saskatoon © K. D. Kirchmeier / Getty Images

Surrounded by gentle wheat fields beneath a dome of great prairie skies, Saskatoon is the largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan .

Straddling the South Saskatchewan River, it has been the province’s cultural and economic hub since its settlement in the late 19th century (but not its capital – that falls to Regina).

The Northern Plains Indigenous Peoples had been guardians of this land for over 6000 years when, in 1883, white Methodists founded the town as a temperance colony, naming it after the purple berry growing in the region. While the railroad eventually reached the fledgling town in 1890, Saskatoon still only had 113 inhabitants at the turn of the century. A boom period of new settlers and entrepreneurs soon followed, and Saskatoon grew into a thriving city, albeit isolated from big cities like Vancouver , Toronto and Montréal .

Today, the sometimes stark prairie landscapes around the city look like nowhere else in the country. Downtown, you’ll find street art tours, compelling museums, craft beer breweries, a variety of architecture and some fine riverside trails. And Saskatoon now proudly explains and celebrates the Indigenous Peoples who have been here for thousands of years, with the Wanuskewen complex a majestic and poignant monument to that past and present.

These top tips can help you plan a trip to Saskatoon.

When should I go to Saskatoon?

Though Saskatoon – one of the sunniest cities in Canada  – receives plenty of sunlight (2350.4 hours annually), winters are long and cold so plan to visit during the glorious summer months between June and August. This is the busiest time of year, but since Saskatoon is a little more under-the-radar than other Canadian cities, it’s not overwhelmed by tourists and offers much better value for money regarding accommodation and eating out. 

The city comes alive with music on those effulgent summer days with magnificent festivals across multiple genres including the Saskatchewan Jazz Festival , Rock the River and the Ness Creek Music Festival . And for those who do want to embrace Saskatchewan winter scenes, the Nutrien Wintershines Festival hosts ice sculptures, cook-offs, stargazing and more. 

How long should I spend in Saskatoon?

Allow two to three days to explore Saskatoon, but also leave time for attractions on the city’s outskirts that make use of the abundant prairie space. You’ll spend the majority of your time in downtown Saskatoon, on the river trails and the Broadway neighborhood, which is ideal for a weekend. More planning is needed for the excursions out of the city, so map out an extra day or two for those depending on time and budget. 

Is it easy to get in and around Saskatoon?

Saskatoon John G. Diefenbaker International Airport is 7km (4 miles) northwest of downtown Saskatoon, which is about 18 minutes by taxi, the most convenient form of travel to any downtown hotel. The number 11 bus also runs from the airport, and takes around 30 minutes to make the same journey (without factoring in walking to the hotel).

Though its streets are wide, Saskatoon’s downtown core is highly walkable and there are several bridges spanning the South Saskatchewan River that link to Broadway Ave’s bars, cafes and stores. Consider hiring a bike too, as the relatively flat landscape and serpentine river trails are ideal for cycling. Visitors to Wanuskewen will need to hire a car or take a taxi.

Traveling elsewhere in Canada? Here are our top tips on transportation

6 of the best things to do in Saskatoon

1. explore the meewasin valley trail.

Saskatoon’s huge prairie skies are evocative and entice you outside, so the best way to experience the great outdoors here is by following some of the Meewasin Valley Trail . Flanking the serpentine river, the 25km (15 mile) trails are a fine introduction to Saskatoon’s cityscape, and are best experienced on two wheels (look out for the motivational chalk murals and messages along the way).

2. See artworks in the Remai Modern

The river winds south to River Landing in downtown’s southern tip, and it’s here that the Tetris-like Remai Modern  museum rises up on a small bluff. Alongside a permanent collection featuring over 8000 works from Canadian and international artists, there’s also a quirky permanent exhibition of ceramics and linocuts by Pablo Picasso in this spacious museum bursting with natural light. 

3. Enjoy the buss of Broadway Avenue

A short walk across the Broadway Bridge brings cinematic city views followed by a stroll into arguably the most vibrant corner of Saskatoon. Airy breweries , buzzing bistros, kitsch vinyl stores and the iconic Broadway Theatre fringe Broadway Ave, which is a fine spot to spend a morning, afternoon or evening (perhaps even all three?). 

4. Take yourself on a tour of downtown's murals and architecture

Back in downtown, discover an art-splashed city on a self-guided street art tour passing by huge murals and multicolored installations spanning 20th and 23rd Street East. Even if you’re not staying there, the Delta Bessborough Hotel is something of a work of art itself. Completed in 1935, the Bessborough is a soaring Châteauesque turreted and gabled affair reminiscent of Bavarian castles that looks startlingly out of place.

5. See how Saskatoon was

Towards the edge of the city, the Western Development Museum’s compelling Boomtown exhibit is an indoor reconstruction of a typical Saskatchewan small-town main street from 1910, complete with a blacksmith, church and train station.

6. Taste local produce at the farmers market

And for a true experience of this land, it’s worth a visit to the Saskatoon Farmers Market  – an institution running since 1975 and stuffed with vendors selling everything from wild berries to handmade moccasins.

My favorite thing to do in Saskatoon

There’s a magical quality to watching the sun sink behind the widescreen horizon at Wanuskewin Heritage Park . Not like the picture-postcard sunsets you see on Caribbean beaches, it’s more of a calming, spiritual feeling as the sun’s soft glow fades across the marshy creeks and wooded ridges of the Opamihaw Valley. Shortly after, I watched the moon rise against a blue evening canvas. Known as nēhiyawēwin in Plains Cree, Wanuskewin roughly translates to "seeking peace of mind" and that name couldn’t be more apt. 

Around 20 minutes north of downtown Saskatoon, Wanuskewin tells the story of the Northern Plains Indigenous People’s spiritual relationship to this land and the living creatures they share it with, most notably the repopulated bison. You can explore panels, artwork, interactive classes, traditional food and much more, but most importantly that story – which is never sugarcoated – is told by Indigenous People themselves. Few experiences I’ve had in North America have felt deeper and more enlightening than this one.

How much money do I need for Saskatoon?

• Hostel room: $79
• Hotel room for two: $94
• Public transport ticket: $3
• Coffee: $3.60
• Sandwich: $3
• Dinner for two: $73
• Beer/pint at a bar: $5.80

Budget for your time in Canada with out money-saving tips

Should I visit in winter?

With an average temperature of -13°C (8°F) in January, winter in Saskatoon is only for the hardiest of souls. However, one bonus of a visit in this season – along with budget-friendly prices – is the chance of seeing the northern lights, with the aurora's stunning swirls sometimes visible if the stars align (no pun intended). Just remember to pack plenty of layers.

What language is spoken in Saskatoon?

Though English and French are official languages in Saskatchewan, English is by far the most spoken language in Saskatoon and you’ll need it for all of your interactions. 

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Destination Practicalities

Apr 29, 2024 • 5 min read

From outdoor summer excursions to spring festivals to winter fun, Canada merits a visit in any season. Here’s your full guide.

Apr 16, 2024 • 8 min read

Apr 13, 2024 • 8 min read

Apr 12, 2024 • 7 min read

Apr 11, 2024 • 6 min read

Apr 11, 2024 • 10 min read

Mar 30, 2024 • 4 min read

Mar 26, 2024 • 6 min read

Mar 24, 2024 • 7 min read

Mar 19, 2024 • 6 min read