News About ISS

At 356 ft in length¹ the International Space Station (ISS) (Международная космическая станция — МКС) is four times larger than its predecessor (предшественница), Russia's Mir space station. But the living and working quarters are cramped for its inhabitants. Two beds serve three people. There are no lavatory facilities (туалет) and the sun rises every 90 minutes.

"In zero gravity² body fluids accumulate in your head area, which can give you both a headache and a chipmunk-face appearance³," says astronaut Pam Melroy, a pilot on two missions to the ISS. "But, generally, your body adjusts after a few days and the sensation eases." Weightlessness (невесомость) is also a problem for human muscles, bones, kidneys (почки) and other vital organs (жизненно-важные органы).

In the early years of space exploration, food consisted of powders, tubes and cubes. Today's astronauts dine on real food, separate menus cater for American and Russian appetites, and the larder (кладовая) contains enough choice for eight days before the menu repeats the cycle.

Some of the experiments on the ISS, which is located about 200 miles above Earth, are designed to sustain life (поддерживать жизнь) during multi-year space voyages. Replenishing the food supply (пополнение запасов еды) is essential, so current inhabitants of the space station (нынешние обитатели космической станции) are working on their gardens. The Biomass Production System (BPS) centres around a high-tech growing box in which wheat and other plants are grown in chambers where all the variables (переменные величины) upon which plants depend (light, temperature, moisture, nutrients, and atmosphere) are controlled. Early human visitors en route to, perhaps even on. Mars⁴ may be eating fresh fruit and vegetables courtesy of these trials⁵, as well as breathing the oxygen (и дышать кислородом) plants produce.