Researchers from five international space agencies, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), live and work on the station in what is one of the world’s most ambitious multinational collaborative projects. Their research is well documented on NASA’s ISS blog and includes such wide-ranging topics as the effects of space travel on the human body, materials science, dark matter, spacecraft systems and countless other topics over the station’s over 21-year history. But an additional source of endless fascination is the astronauts’ daily life in a vessel about the size of a football field, floating in microgravity with an international crew of seven people.

How do the astronauts wash their hair? (rinseless shampoo); sleep? (in a bag and attached to the wall); spend their free time? (mostly looking out the window, according to NASA). The ISS has been fastidiously designed to maximize the health, productivity and comfort of the crew while optimizing the efficient use of space and supplies.

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