The International Space Station (ISS) celebrates a remarkable milestone: 25 years of continuous human presence! This engineering marvel has become a symbol of global cooperation, but its journey hasn’t been without challenges. Here’s the story of this cosmic home away from home.
On a crisp December morning in 2017, the Soyuz MS-07 rocket stood tall at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, ready to embark on a historic mission. Fast forward to November 27, 2025, and the ISS is a bustling hub with a crew of 10. The latest addition? A trio of spacefarers: Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikayev, and NASA astronaut Christopher Williams. But this isn’t just any ordinary crew changeover.
This marks a quarter-century of continuous habitation, a testament to the enduring partnership between NASA and Roscosmos. The journey began in November 2000, and since then, the ISS has been a beacon of scientific exploration and international collaboration. The arrival of Kud-Sverchkov, Mikayev, and Williams is a celebration of this achievement, as they join the existing crew for an eight-month scientific adventure.
A Warm Welcome in Zero Gravity: As the hatch opened, the new arrivals floated into the ISS, greeted by beaming smiles from their fellow crewmates. It’s a unique experience, living and working in microgravity, and the camaraderie among astronauts and cosmonauts is a testament to the human spirit’s adaptability. Williams, a clinical physicist turned astronaut, shared his enthusiasm for the crew’s bond on the podcast Houston We Have a Podcast. He praised his Russian colleagues, highlighting their kindness and intellectual curiosity, which led to engaging conversations during their training in both Star City and Houston.
Training for the Stars: Star City and Houston are iconic training grounds for cosmonauts and astronauts, respectively. Williams described the intense preparation, including hours spent in Soyuz simulations, where the trio rehearsed various mission scenarios. These simulations are crucial for ensuring the crew’s readiness for any situation, from launch to spacewalks.
The ISS’s 25-year milestone is a reminder of the power of international collaboration in space exploration. But it also raises questions: How can we ensure this cooperation continues in an era of geopolitical tensions? And what does the future hold for long-duration space missions? The answers may lie in the very heart of the ISS itself, where science and humanity meet in the vast expanse of space.