The International Space Station is the biggest object ever made orbiting the Earth. It’s been up there 20 years!

In one day, it goes round our planet 16 times.

The station is as big as a football stadium and weighs 400 t; that’s the weight of 25 buses.

In this giant laboratory, there are 6 people permanently working on science experiments and the station’s maintenance.

They especially test living conditions in space to prepare for future trips.

So what’s it like to live in this incredible space station?

Orbiting the Earth, in weightlessness, everything floats.

Muscles have to be reinforced so they don’t go soft. That takes 2 hours of sport every day.

For meals, the astronauts eat food in a thick sauce that sticks to the fork. They drink using straws. Like that, food and drink stays put.

In the same way, when you go to the bathroom, you strap yourself in. Pee and poop are pulled away by suction.

It’s impossible to take a shower here. They use wet wipes to wash the body and then dry off with a towel.

So they don’t bump into each other (when they’re asleep), astronauts use sleeping bags attached to the wall.

So now you know what the ISS is; it’s also the greatest place for observing the Earth.