See the best photos of the 2022 International Space Station in this NASA video
NASA has released a stunning series of images celebrating 2022 aboard the International Space Station.
In 2022 the International Space Station (ISS) marked its 24th year in orbit at an altitude of about 400 kilometers (250 mi) above Earth’s surface. The images, which can be seen as an assembly NASA Johnson’s YouTube channel (opens in new tab)show that after nearly a decade and a half, the station’s mission to advance science is still strong.
The photos show some of the ISS achievements in 2022, including the deployment of small satellites cubesats above Earth and testing fluid dynamics in space.
Related: Amazing spacewalks outside the International Space Station in photos
More images show what life is like on a space station hundreds of miles above Earth Soilthe miracle of looking back at our planet from spaceand the thrill and danger of walking in space, separated from the dangerous environment by little more than a piece of plastic.
The first image in the video shows astronaut Bob Hines working on the GRASP experiment at the station. GRASP consists of a chair and work table equipped with sensors to measure an astronaut’s movement, position, grip strength and finger wetness while performing tasks.
Hines wears virtual reality goggles that map the connection between what he can feel and perceive through his other senses, such as his eyes, muscles, and vestibular organs.
The goal of GRASP is to improve understanding of the body’s sensory feedback system, so not only could the findings be useful in space, but they could help scientists here on Earth as they explore new treatments for neurological disorders .
The second image in the video shows Hines next to an astronaut Jessica Watkinswho made history in April 2022 by the first black woman to participate in a months-long ISS mission, explores the XROOTS experiment. This uses the ISSs Vegetarian facility to test the use of hydroponic and aeroponic techniques instead of soil to grow plants.
In the third image of the video, the ISS crew gathers in the US-built Destiny module during a conference with Mission Control on Earth. At first glance, the image may look like any other team meeting, if not before European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti defies gravity by hanging comfortably from the ceiling.
In the following image, astronauts Thomas Marshburn and Mark Vande Hello gaze out of the ISS’s dome windows as Earth passes below them. More than just an example of the wonder of space habitation, crew member observations of our planet help us understand how it changes over time.
An example of these Earth observations can be seen in an ISS image of the Carrizozo Malpaís, a long stretch of basalt in the New Mexico desert, in stunning detail. The geologic feature was created by a decades-long eruption and was captured by the ISS crew with hand-held cameras.
In another image seen in the video, Earth is also prominently featured as the ISS flies over the Atlantic Ocean observing the launch of a trio of cubesats from a small satellite deployer.
The view of the ISS in space in 2022 also made the moment possible astronauts Josh Cassada and Frank Rubio ventured beyond the station’s relative safety to install the roll-out solar panel, or iROSA, on the starboard truss structure. A total of 6 iROSAs will be attached to the ISS, giving the station a power increase of 30%.
The last image in the NASA video again shows the US module Destiny, but this time unoccupied. With its lights off, Destiny is flooded with green ambient light. In 2022, Destiny, home to a variety of life and physical sciences, technology demonstrations, and educational events, will be supported by the Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction (SOFIE) hardware.
This will help Destiny conduct new combustion studies in 2023 as the space station enters its Silver Jubilee year and conducts 25 years of space science.
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