Everything you Need to Know About the International Space Station Science Fair 2021

By: J. R.

Montessori Academy at Spring Valley

8th Grade Focus Question

What is the International Space

Station, how was it built, what do

the crewmates do there? Introduction

The year was 1998 the date was November the 20th and the whole world was buzzing with anticipation. Today was the day that the first piece of the ISS, the Zarya, would be launched. On October 4, 1957, the US was in the midst of the Cold War which started in 1947 and tension hung in the air between the US and the Soviet Union. The Soviets had just launched the Sputnik 1, a Russian artificial satellite. The US was shocked that the Russians had reached the stars before the US did. Only a month later the Russians launched yet another rocket called the Sputnik 2 and this time it carried a dog named Laika. It wasn't until 1958 that the US finally got their own rocket; Explorer 1, launched. In 1969 Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong became the first men on the moon and the US had won the space race. Statement

My model will show what the International Space Station will look like in scale. Why is THe ISS Important?

What is the purpose of the ISS? The ISS is a laboratory to conduct experiments. Why do we need a laboratory in space when we already have thousands here on Earth? Well, in space things are very different. That includes the gravity (there is none) the oxygen we breathe (it's artificial aboard the ISS so the air the astro/cosmonauts breath is recycled), so naturally experiment results will also be very different. Since these results will be different we can learn exactly how space works differently than Earth. A Timeline Of The ISS

January 25,1984 November 20, 1998

President Ronald The first piece of the Reagan's State of the ISS, the Zarya Union Address tells (Russian), is launched NASA to build the into space by the International Space Soyuz-U rocket. Station within the next 10 years Continued

December 4, 1998 November 2, 2000 February 7, 2001

The Unity module Bill Sheppard (U.S The Destiny (U.S (U.S) is launched astronaut), Yuri laboratory module) is Gidzenko (Russian launched. It is used as cosmonaut) and a primary research Sergei Krikalev lab for U.S payloads. become the first crew to live on the ISS for several months. Continued

February 7, 2008 March 11, 2008

Columbus (European) The Kibo Laboratory module is launched module is launched by the European by JAXA (Japan Space Agency. It is Aerospace used as a laboratory. Exploration Agency). Parts Used In The ISS

1) Power module (Russia) 2) Zarya Control Module (Russia) 3) Thermal control radiators 4) Canadarm2 (Canada) 5) Destiny laboratory module (U.S.) 6) Kibo laboratory module (Japan) 7) Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (Italy) 8) Columbus Orbital Facility (Europe) 9) X-38 crew return vehicle (U.S) 10) Soyuz-U spacecraft (Russia) 11) Integrated truss structure (U.S.) 12) Solar arrays (U.S.) Participating Nations

~Belgium ~Brazil ~Canada ~Denmark ~France ~Germany ~Italy ~Japan ~Netherlands ~Norway ~Russia ~Spain ~Sweden ~Switzerland ~United Kingdom ~United States Stranded in Space

What keeps the ISS from overheating?

There are these small flat panels at right angles to the solar panels called radiators. When the station gets to hot the radiators collect the excess heat and releases infrared radiation that cools as it flows through space. If the ISS overheats the entire station will malfunction and cause the astronauts to be stranded in space. Luckily, if this happens or any number of other catastrophes that can occur there an escape shuttle called the X-38. It looks a lot like a high speed boat. This shuttle will bring the ISS crew safely back to Earth if an emergency were ever to occur. Robonaut

In residence on the ISS there is a robot named Robonaut. It works when the rest of the cosmo/astronauts are getting some shut eye. It helps keep things in order so the ISS and the (human) crew do not crash and burn in the atmosphere. (Luckily this robot does not have a conscience so there will not be a case of “2001: A Space Odyssey”) Robonaut was built at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston What Inspired The ISS

All great projects need inspiration whether it be wanting to beat your competitor at getting to space first or watching a cool space movie and wanting to build a spaceship.

The ISS project had inspiration from an older space station sent up by Russia in 1986 called the Mir which stayed in orbit for 15 years. Where IS The ISS?

The actual distance from the earth to the ISS varies since the ISS needs constant boosts to keep the ISS in orbit. If the Russian progress resupply vehicle did not boost the ISS when needed it would crash into Earth. Crewmates

Since the year 2000 humans have been living on the ISS. The crew members’ backgrounds can vary from scientists, computer engineers, people with military backgrounds, to teachers. For example, Kathleen Rubins earned a doctorate in cancer biology and studied diseases before becoming an astronaut and venturing to the ISS. She became the first person to sequence DNA in space. Food On The ISS

Eating is always a hassle on the ISS. If you let your water spill or crumbs fly it could damage equipment. They used to only eat cold food paste from aluminum tubes or small frozen cubes. Now their food is freeze dried and delivered to them every 90 days.They can add water and heat the food up in a convection oven. Drinks are vacuum sealed in pouches and can be drunk with straws. Training To Become A Crewmate

Of course before making their journey to the ISS all future astronauts must undergo extensive training. It takes two years to complete training. During training the future crew are exposed to what they may experience on the ISS. For example low gravity. To get a feel of what low gravity is like they do most of their training underwater. Astro/cosmonauts say their noses are often stuffy and their faces are almost always puffy. To get a feel of what zero g feels like try having your feet raised higher than your head laying down (this works better if you have an adjustable bed but using several stacked pillows also works).

They also have to learn how to speak several languages in order to communicate with their crewmates. If they didn't know how to communicate nothing would get done on the ISS. They also study the heating and cooling systems in case of an emergency and they need to manually control the systems. They must learn to prepare for emergencies that happen on their journey home like landing in the jungle. To get home the speed and angle of descent must be perfect or else the astronauts will crash. Model Materials

1) International Space Station Model LEGO Set Material Procedure

First, I constructed the base that holds up the ISS scale model and displays the International Space Station logo. Second, I built the ISS modules and the truss separately then connected them in their correct positions. Third, I attached the solar panels and radiators to the modules and truss. Fourth, I built the X-38 escape shuttle and attached it to the base along with the space station. What My Model Shows

My model shows what the ISS looks like in scale. Summary

In this project I learned about the process of building the International Space Station, the crew that lives there and the research they do there. My goal for this project was to learn what I could about the International Space Station and share what I’ve learned. I found that the research and experiments done on the ISS peaked my interest, especially what they are doing with protein crystals and what they plan to do with them. References

● Books: The Amazing International Space Station by the Editors of YES Magazine, The International Space Station by Arnold Ringstad Spectacular Space Stations by Elsie Olson, Home Address: ISS by James Buckley Jr., The International Space Station by Franklyn M. Branley illustrated by True Kelley, The Coolest Job in the Universe by Henry M. Holden, Life in Space by Ben Richmond

● Online Documents: Timeline by https://www.issnationallab.org/about/iss- timeline/