CNES projects library
C
I
M
P
S
U
Bi
International Space Station
In 1998, the Russian Zarya module was placed into Earth orbit and became the first element of the International Space Station (ISS). Assembly of the station was completed 13 years later, in 2011. Today, the ISS has a habitable volume of approximately 400 m3 and has been permanently crewed since November 2000. The station’s main purpose is to perform microgravity science experiments. Two examples are Cardiomed, a medical experiment developed by CNES in cooperation with the IMBP (Russia) to gauge the effects of near-weightlessness on the cardiovascular system. it was operated from 2010 to 2020 and its continuation is in preparation, and the DECLIC mini-laboratory also developed by CNES in cooperation with NASA and launched to the ISS in 2009 to observe the behaviour of fluids in certain very precise conditions. As the ISS orbits Earth at an altitude of about 400 km, such experiments allow scientists to detect physical and physiological phenomena otherwise masked by gravity on the ground. In addition to its role performing experiments, the ISS also serves as a platform to observe Earth from space and as a proving ground for future human space exploration.
Launched and led by NASA, the ISS mission was developed and is being pursued in partnership with ESA, the Russian federal space agency Roscosmos, the Japan Aerospace eXploration Agency (JAXA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The ISS will continue operating until at least 2030.
Mission's news feed
-
Parasol satellite mission could be extended
Parasol completed its 6th year in orbit on 18 December 2010. This mission to observe clouds and aerosols in Earth’s atmosphere has been a great a success for CNES, which is now...
January 19, 2011
-
Parasol moves off the A-Train’s track
Before the Parasol satellite runs out of fuel, CNES has decided to take it off the A-Train, where it has been probing Earth’s atmosphere with its companions for 5 years.
January 13, 2010
-
Parasol in the eye of the storm
Late February, Cyclone Gamede brushed past Réunion, leaving 2 dead, 100 injured and more than 100 million euros in damage. CNES’s Parasol cloud- and aerosol-observing satellite...
February 27, 2007