*Image showing ISS orbiting the earth with earth in the background.Image credit Pixabay.com.

International Space Station (ISS) is the largest man-made object in space.It's a habitable artificial satellite placed in Earth's lower orbit.

In fact, Google offers an opportunity to tour the ISS by using Google Earth View.This helps humans on the surface of the earth take 360 degree views inside ISS.This is possible by visiting the page- www.google.com/streetview/.

As it is,any user can visit 16 different parts of the ISS. Each image contains tiny dots.When clicked each site allows the user to learn more about its specific function.

Pictures show that ISS is a huge lab orbiting the earth.It was created with the sole objective to conduct experiments in the weightless environment of microgravity.
 
Scientists say that knowledge gained from such scientific experiments can help them to go forward and and launch deep space explorations.In effect,it can help humans to colonize distant habitable planets.
 
The station is made up of numerous parts called 'modules'. The first module named 'Zarya' was launched by the Russians in the year 1998.

Apart from being an great engineering feat, the ISS also symbolizes international collaboration in the field of space exploration.

Records show that the ISS programme is a joint project among five participating space agencies: NASA, Roscosmos, JAXA, ESA, and CSA.Astronauts from these countries conduct various scientific experiments in the station.

Google users will now see that the station is quite big and the liveable space is more than a 6-bedroom house. It has two bathrooms, a gymnasium, a 360 degree bay window and numerous telephone -booth sized racks to conduct its research experiments.

ISS orbits the earth at a speed of about 7.71 kilometres per second.Since 2000, the station has been continuously occupied by astronauts.There are several space crafts that regularly deliver cargo to ISS.They are - Russian 'Progress' spacecraft, European 'Automated Transfer Vehicles', Japanese 'Kounotori' vehicles,and the American 'Dragon' and 'Cygnus' spacecraft.

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