For 15 years, astronauts from around the world have collaboratively occupied a science laboratory orbiting the Earth.
NASA, the White House, and agencies across the nation and around the world are celebrating 15 years of International Space Station (ISS) occupancy. In that time, more than 200 people from 15 different countries have lived aboard it, The Washington Post reported.
"Over the weekend, I called NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, who is currently halfway through his one-year mission aboard the International Space Station, to congratulate him on setting the American records for both cumulative and continuous days in space," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a statement. "I also took the opportunity to congratulate Commander Kelly -- and the rest of the space station crew - for being part of a remarkable moment 5,478 days in the making: the 15th anniversary of continuous human presence aboard the space station.
"I believe the station should be considered the blueprint for peaceful global cooperation. For more than a decade and a half, it has taught us about what's possible when tens of thousands of people across 15 countries collaborate to advance shared goals."
President Barack Obama renewed the ISS through 2024, but The Post noted it could last longer. When it is time (hopefully that is not for another decade or more), the ISS will perform a controlled crash landing.
NASA set up a webpage to help you spot the ISS in the sky, and has designed an infographic to detail some of the incredible feats it has been a part of.
"I congratulate all of the men and women at NASA and around the world who have worked so hard to keep the International Space Station operational these past 15 years," Dr. John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said in the statement. "Everyone involved can be proud of this incredible achievement."
