Two decades ago, on November 1, 2000, three humans left Earth for a new life in space. Since Then the International Space Station has been home to a rotating international crew of six astronauts. Metro finds out how they’ve survived

The ISS is the biggest human-made structure in space, measuring 358ft in length, which is about as long as a football pitch. A collaboration between Nasa, Russia’s Roscosmos, Japan’s Jaxa, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the European Space Agency (ESA), the ISS essentially acts as a unique orbiting laboratory where astronauts test out new technologies and carry out scientific experiments in microgravity.

Around 250 to 300 scientific investigations are carried out at any given time and help prepare for future space missions — as well as helping us. For example, the first UK-led experiment on the ISS recently studied a horde of worms to test the effect of muscle loss in space. That could also help us to understand muscle loss in old age….

The full article appeared in the 30 October 2020 issue of Metro and can also be viewed in the e-edition.