Collaboration that’s out of this world

Clock is ticking for space station

The International Space Station (ISS) is nearing the end of its working life. Already it has lasted longer than intended and Nasa is giving it another 10 years in orbit. It has been up there since 1998, having been put together by space mechanics and engineers then, and extended further since. The odd addition here, another room there, an outside toilet there . . . and it was expected to start to fail after 15 years. Obviously, they built things to last in 1998, and scientists believe it will keep doing its job until 2030.

That should give the boffins time to work out how to bring it back to Earth without inflicting some nasty damage when it hits.

During its time in orbit, ISS has been busy. Using the “microgravity’ of space, scientists have been able to research and develop drugs, vaccines and medicines, as well as study and monitor Earth’s environment and natural disasters. As well, of course, as watching what happens when humans spend time in zero-gravity far from the madding crowd.

As an exercise in international co-operation, the ISS achieved its goal, with five space agencies across the planet sharing its facilities and numerous countries coming together in space to add modules and parts. They lived and worked in harmony, made friends and shared knowledge freely.

Another 10 years’ use and who knows what the intelligent men and women involved could come up with to improve the lot of humans on Earth.

More than 200 people from 19 or so countries have lived on board, and since 2001 it has been continuously occupied. There is usually an international contingent of seven on board at any one time, except for a period in 2009 when there were 13 people queuing up to use the bathroom. That set a record of the number of people in space at any one time.

It is the largest artificial satellite in space — as far as we know — and it can be seen with the naked eye as it crosses the night sky on its 16 daily orbits, 400km above the surface of the planet. It travels at about 28,000km/h. It is huge. If you grassed the top of it you could play a game of rugby on its surface, stopping at halftime for oranges and oxygen. Such a game has yet to be played, but I would pity the ball boys and girls at such a match.

So why is it that people from all nations can co-operate fully in space, learn from each other, assist each other and make scientific advances without acrimony, but threats, wars, trade embargoes, posturing and sabre-rattling carry on below as usual? Is gravity the cause of conflict?

If we suddenly launched Russia and Ukraine into space, would the hostilities stop? And that could apply to any number of hotspots where belligerence and tonguepoking is the order of the day. Send them up into the thermosphere and see if they calm down and start to see reason.

Or are scientists above the mundane motivations of nationalism and political pointscoring? Is their work far more important than the transitory goals of politics and imagined world leadership? Developing lifesaving medicine is not limited by terms of office, and scientists are usually far more intelligent than your average politician. They work to different principles and their goals are worthwhile.

Still, in less than 10 years, the ISS will be taken down and the “international” part of its title will be no more. Already individual nations are planning their own replacements and private companies are leading the way. Is this where co-operation among nations ends? Was space truly the final frontier, at least for international collaboration?

With private corporations spending billions of dollars, yen, euros or pounds to build, launch and maintain space stations of their own, will profit become the primary motive? Will medical research be like it is on Earth, a way to make a buck from the vulnerable? I guess we can only wait and see.

In the meantime, the world’s biggest brains have to find a way to bring the space station down from its orbit, crashing it safely somewhere without causing major destruction. Obviously, that will be in some part of an ocean, a big one, although there are huge deserts where chunks of debris could fall without scaring the seahorses. That’s up to those in charge and they have a decade or so in which to come up with answers to questions they haven’t even asked yet.

How do those people at Nasa feel about this part of their working lives coming to an end? For years their job has been to take care of a giant laboratory and B&B in space, looking after its every need and making sure the towels are fresh for each new arrival, wherever they are from. In just a few short years they will be overseeing its destruction in a most spectacular way, leaving a big hole in orbit where it once travelled. And then what? Does their work continue? That valuable research undertaken in microgravity must continue, but will Nasa be booking a room and lab space from Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk or Sir Richard Branson?

ISS was not the only space station flying above us, but it was the only one based on international friendship and cooperation. Will there be another?

As an exercise in international cooperation, the ISS achieved its goal