Skip to main content

25 amazing ISS photos to mark 25 years of the space station

An impressive feat of modern engineering and a notable example of what can be achieved by cross-border cooperation, the International Space Station (ISS) marks its 25th year of operations this week.

Recommended Videos

At the top of this page, you can enjoy a gallery of 25 stunning images of the ISS, most of them captured from visiting or departing spacecraft.

The station’s first two elements — Unity and Zarya — were attached by crew members of Space Shuttle Endeavour’s STS-88 mission on December 6, 1998, though the first long-duration stay by astronauts, which marked the start of a continuous human presence on the ISS that lasts to this day, didn’t begin until November 2000.

The facility is around 250 miles above Earth and makes a complete orbit of our planet about once every 90 minutes.

Over the years, the ISS has been expanded to a size that NASA describes as “larger than a six-bedroom house,” measuring 357 feet (108 meters) from end-to-end, which is about the size of an American football field. It includes six sleeping quarters, three bathrooms, a gym, and a number of research facilities.

“Through this global endeavor, astronauts have continuously lived and worked aboard the space station for more than 23 years, testing technologies, performing science, and developing the skills needed to explore farther from Earth,” NASA said in a message posted on its website this week.

It added: “More than 3,300 research and educational investigations have been conducted on station from 108 countries and areas. Many of these research and technology investigations benefit people on Earth, and many lay the groundwork for future commercial destinations in low Earth orbit and exploration farther into the solar system.”

During its quarter of a century in orbit, the ISS has been visited by 273 people from 21 countries, many staying for six months in microgravity conditions before returning to Earth.

For more on how astronauts live and work on the ISS, check out this collection of videos made aboard the facility by various visitors over the years.

Also, did you know that you can spot the ISS in the sky with the naked eye? Find out how to see the International Space Station as it passes overhead.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Watch the Crew Dragon hurtling through space at 17,500 mph
The Crew-9 Crew Dragon on its way to the space station.

SpaceX has released some remarkable footage (below) showing a Crew Dragon spacecraft zipping through space, with the Pacific Ocean several hundred miles below.

Aboard the Crew Dragon were NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov as they made their way to the International Space Station (ISS) in SpaceX's Crew-9 mission.

Read more
SpaceX Crew-9 mission launches to ISS carrying two astronauts
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company’s Dragon spacecraft is launched on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov onboard, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

A SpaceX Crew Dragon craft has launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida carrying two new crew members to the International Space Station (ISS). The launch had been delayed a number of times, most recently due to Hurricane Helene, but lifted off successfully at 1:17 p.m. ET on Saturday, September 28.

The spacecraft, carried by a Falcon 9 rocket and launched from Space Launch Complex-40, carries NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov as members of the Crew-9 mission. It is unusual for a Dragon to launch carrying just two crew members, as it typically carries crews of four. In this case, the spare seats are reserved for the homeward journey of NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams who are currently on the ISS after having traveled there on the first crewed test flight of the Boeing Starliner.

Read more
ISS astronauts enjoy front row seats for comet’s journey toward the sun
Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS as seen from the space station.

Two NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) have been tracking the movement of a comet heading toward the sun and using the opportunity to capture some remarkable photos and footage.

ISS inhabitants Matthew Dominick and Don Pettit -- both already renowned for their impressive space-based photographic work -- have been monitoring comet C2023-A3 (also known as Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) for the past week or so and sharing their efforts on social media.

Read more