Why Is There A Station In Space? Here's NASA's Explanation

JAKARTA At NASA, astronauts are not only assigned to explore the Moon or circle its orbit. They are also assigned to carry out various scientific research at stations with micro or zero gravity.

This place commonly referred to as the International Space Station (ISS) is the only laboratory in Earth orbit. This station is the size of a football field so tens to hundreds of experiments can be carried out there.

To build the giant laboratory, many countries are working together in building its components, such as the US, Canada, Japan, and Europe. The construction of this station also took quite a long time, from 1984 to 1993.

The ISS is a place to work on various experiments and test technology for human needs. NASA is also actively monitoring the impact of spaceflight in the long term on humans. Usually, astronauts can research for months.

During the 25 years in orbit, more than 270 astronauts from various countries have come to visit the laboratory. They have carried out various innovative studies that of course cannot be worked on in standard laboratories on Earth.

Sometimes, in an important study, scientists want to monitor their experimental results in space without gravity. For example, such as research on plants that always use gravity in determining where their roots should grow.

When gravity is eliminated, scientists can gain unique insight into the plant's response during the face of new pressures. Not only about biology, but physics and chemical processes also change a lot when facing microgravity.

Low Earth Orbit (LEO) was chosen as the location for the giant laboratory stopover because the observation opportunities were quite good. The station height is also quite low, only 402 kilometers from Earth, so the instrument obtains better details.

Interestingly, the ISS can be seen with the naked eye when the sky is dark and the station is just above the head of the person who wants to see it. With a distance away from the human position, the station will look like an ordinary airplane or even a very bright star.