NASA showed off one astronaut in the International Space Station’s “best seat in the house” on Friday.
The International Space Station said it’s the “window to the world,” and with social media, we get a different kind of way to imagine and dream about what’s going on up there in space.
NASA Explains Astronaut Activities In ISS Dome
So let’s look at Kayla Barron, a Naval submarine warfare officer, and Idaho-born astronaut. A smiling Barron posed for a cosmic Instagram photo with a camera fixed outside the station. The American looked out of the station from inside the dome.
NASA talked about its ultimate observation deck, talking about its seven windows. Six of them go around the sides with one on top for “spectacular views of Earth and celestial objects.”
The agency explained that the window screens could be covered to protect the station from micrometeoroids and the harsh space environment when necessary.
It’s a tiny part of the International Space Station, though. At just 10 feet in diameter, two crew members squish in to see what’s going on outside the station. The windows help astronauts look for approaching vehicles, monitor spacewalks, complete robotic functions, and look for Superman.
Ok, Ok, maybe not the last part. Besides, you can’t spend all your time in space looking at the computer monitors. You need a few windows.
At one point on Friday night, the post picked up more than 216,000 likes.
Tension on Earth Worries American, Russian Astronauts
CNN reported on the thoughts of many former ISS American astronauts amid the rising conflict between the United States and Russia. The ISS is a project between the US, Russia, Japan, Canada, and the European Space Agency.
But former NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman told CNN he thinks it would be “hard for the ISS to survive” if there is possible weapon use during the current US-Russian conflict.
However, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said America’s commitment to the station is still as strong despite the conflict. Last month, the Biden administration announced that the government will still use the station through 2030.
On the other hand, Russia is still thinking about the partnership after the announcement. Dmitry Rogozin, head of Russian space agency Roscosmos, said talks are underway.
Reisman said that both sides of the ISS are very much dependent on each other. He said the “Russian segment can’t function without electricity on the American side, and the American side can’t function without the propulsion systems that are on the Russian side.”
The complexities of the space station make shared water supply usage necessary too.
“So you can’t do an amicable divorce,” Reisman told CNN. “You can’t do a conscious uncoupling.”
According to Russian news agency TASS, the country talked about a space station inspection in April. At that time, Russia would decide if it should leave the space station program by 2025.
