space station

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space station

Q: What is a space station?

A space station is an artificial structure placed in orbit and having the pressurized enclosure, power, supplies, and environmental systems necessary to support human habitation for extended periods. Depending on its configuration, a space station can serve as a base for a variety of activities. These include observations of the Sun and other astronomical objects, study of Earth’s resources and environment, military reconnaissance, and long-term investigations of the behaviour of materials and biological systems—including human physiology and biochemistry —in a state of weightlessness , or microgravity .

Q: Should humans colonize space with space stations?

Space colonization, with space stations or otherwise, is widely debated. Some argue humans have a moral duty to save our species from extinction, and space colonization is one way of doing so. Others argue that living in space is science fiction and that we should concentrate on improving life on Earth instead of potentially ruining another planet or moon. For more on the debate about colonizing space, visit ProCon.org .

Written by David M. Harland

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Mar 26, 2024 • Article History

International Space Station

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Category: Science & Tech

Key People:: Tim Peake; Sigmund Jähn; Ellen Ochoa; Valentin Petrovich Glushko

Related Topics:: Tiangong; Salyut; crewed spacecraft

On the Web:: National Air and Space Museum - The First Space Stations (Mar. 15, 2024)

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This Week @NASA: A Commercial Mission Carries Science to the Space Station

What is a space station?

Should humans colonize space with space stations?

space station, an artificial structure placed in orbit and having the pressurized enclosure, power, supplies, and environmental systems necessary to support human habitation for extended periods. Depending on its configuration, a space station can serve as a base for a variety of activities. These include observations of the Sun and other astronomical objects, study of Earth’s resources and environment, military reconnaissance, and long-term investigations of the behaviour of materials and biological systems—including human physiology and biochemistry—in a state of weightlessness, or microgravity. Small space stations are launched fully assembled, but larger stations are sent up in modules and assembled in ...(100 of 3717 words)

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