{"id":37234,"date":"2023-08-28T06:23:32","date_gmt":"2023-08-28T00:53:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=37234"},"modified":"2025-04-22T12:16:26","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T06:46:26","slug":"nasa-spacex-launch-sends-four-astronauts-from-four-countries-to-iss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/nasa-spacex-launch-sends-four-astronauts-from-four-countries-to-iss\/","title":{"rendered":"What is International Space Station (ISS)?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>What\u2019s in today\u2019s article?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Why in news?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>What is International Space Station (ISS)?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>What are the features of ISS?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Why Is the Space Station Important?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>News Summary: NASA, SpaceX launch sends four astronauts from four countries to ISS<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Why has such a diverse group of astronauts gone to ISS?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>What is the mission?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>\u00a0<\/h2>\n<h2><strong>Why in news?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>NASA and SpaceX\u2019s Dragon spacecraft has blasted off carrying four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).<\/li>\n<li>Known as Crew-7, the mission includes four astronauts from four countries &#8211; the US, Denmark, Japan, and Russia.\n<ul>\n<li>This was the first US take-off in which all the astronauts atop the spacecraft belonged to a different country.\n<ul>\n<li>Until now, NASA had always included two or three of its own on its SpaceX flights.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>International Space Station (ISS)<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>ISS is a large spacecraft in\u00a0<strong>low Earth orbit<\/strong>\u00a0largely by the United States and Russia, with assistance and components from a multinational consortium.<\/li>\n<li>It is habitable spacecraft that orbits Earth at an average altitude of approximately 420 kilometers (260 miles).<\/li>\n<li>It serves as a unique and collaborative space laboratory, research facility, and living space for astronauts and cosmonauts from various countries.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Features of ISS<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Construction and Ownership<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The ISS is a joint project involving space agencies from multiple countries.<\/li>\n<li>The major partners include\u00a0<u>NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), ESA (European Space Agency), JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).<\/u>\n<ul>\n<li>In 2022, Russia announced that\u00a0<strong>it will pull out of ISS after 2024<\/strong>\u00a0and focus on building its own orbiting outpost.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>These agencies have contributed modules, components, and resources to construct and maintain the station.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Size and Structure<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The ISS is quite large, with a mass of around 460 tons and a habitable volume roughly equivalent to the interior of a Boeing 747 aircraft.<\/li>\n<li>It consists of various interconnected modules and components, including laboratories, living quarters, and docking ports.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Orbit and Duration<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>It travels at 17,500 mph. This means it orbits Earth every 90 minutes.\n<ul>\n<li>This means that crew members on board experience multiple sunrises and sunsets each day.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Missions typically last six months, although some crew members may stay for shorter or longer durations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>International Crew<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The ISS is continuously inhabited by a rotating crew of astronauts and cosmonauts from different nations.<\/li>\n<li>These crew members live and work on the station for several months at a time, conducting experiments, maintaining systems, and performing various tasks necessary to keep the station operational.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Why Is the Space Station Important?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>One of the primary purposes of the ISS is to conduct scientific research and experiments in the\u00a0<u>unique microgravity environment of space<\/u>.\n<ul>\n<li>Microgravity is often referred to as\u00a0<strong>near zero gravity or weightlessness<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Researchers from around the world use the station to study a wide range of fields, including biology, physics, astronomy, and Earth sciences.<\/li>\n<li>The ISS has contributed to our understanding of topics such as human health in space, materials science, and climate change.<\/li>\n<li>The space station has made it possible for people to have an ongoing presence in space. Human beings have been living in space every day since the first crew arrived.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>News Summary: NASA, SpaceX launch sends four astronauts from four countries to ISS<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h2><strong>Why has such a diverse group of astronauts gone to ISS?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The Crew-7 mission is a result of the ongoing cooperation among different countries in space, especially since the launch of the space station in 1998.<\/li>\n<li>ISS Program involves the US, Russia, Canada, Japan, and the participating countries of the European Space Agency.<\/li>\n<li>It is one of the most ambitious international collaborations ever attempted.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What is the mission?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The Crew-7 is the\u00a0<u>eighth flight operated by NASA and Elon Musk-owned SpaceX<\/u>\u00a0as part of the agency\u2019s commercial crew program, which has been taking astronauts to the ISS since SpaceX\u2019s first crewed mission in 2020.<\/li>\n<li>During their stay at the space station, the Crew-7 astronauts will conduct more than 200 science experiments and technology demonstrations to prepare for missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.<\/li>\n<li>The research will include a\u00a0<strong>collection of microbial samples from the exterior<\/strong>\u00a0of the space station.<\/li>\n<li>The team will also analyse\u00a0<strong>how sleeping in the microgravity environment differs from Earth<\/strong>\u00a0by examining astronauts\u2019 brain waves while they sleep.<\/li>\n<li>Another experiment will look at the\u00a0<strong>formation of biofilms in wastewater<\/strong>\u00a0on the space station, which could be key to finding better ways to recycle water for drinking and hygiene while in space.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Q1) What is microgravity?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Microgravity, often referred to as &#8220;zero gravity&#8221; or &#8220;weightlessness,&#8221; is the condition in which objects appear to be weightless and free-fall freely in a spacecraft or other environment, such as the International Space Station (ISS). It occurs when an object is in a state of continuous free fall towards a massive body, like the Earth, but is also moving forward at a sufficient velocity that it never actually hits the Earth&#8217;s surface. This combination of falling towards the Earth while moving forward at the right speed creates the sensation of weightlessness for objects and occupants within the spacecraft.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Q2)<\/strong> <strong>What is JAXA?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>JAXA, or the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, is Japan&#8217;s national space agency responsible for space research, exploration, and the development of space technology. Established on October 1, 2003, JAXA is a prominent player in the global space community and conducts a wide range of activities related to space science, satellite development, planetary exploration, and human spaceflight.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Source:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-sci-tech\/nasa-spacex-astronauts-launch-8910839\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>NASA, SpaceX send astronauts from four nations to space station: Who are they, what is the mission<\/u><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/audience\/forstudents\/5-8\/features\/nasa-knows\/what-is-the-iss-58.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>NASA<\/u><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/International-Space-Station\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>Britannica<\/u><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2023\/8\/26\/nasa-and-spacex-crew-of-four-blast-off-to-iss\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>Aljazeera<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chandrayaan-3 lander touched down point on the lunar surface would be named Shiv Shakti.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":37235,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-37234","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37234\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}