The International Space Station

<p>The <strong>International Space Station</strong> (<strong>ISS</strong>) is the largest <a title="Modular design" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modular_design">modular</a> <a title="Space station" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_station">space station</a> currently in <a title="Low Earth orbit" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_Earth_orbit">low Earth orbit</a>. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: <a title="NASA" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">NASA</a> (United States), <a title="Roscosmos" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roscosmos">Roscosmos</a> (Russia), <a title="JAXA" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JAXA">JAXA</a> (Japan), <a title="European Space Agency" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Space_Agency">ESA</a> (Europe), and <a title="Canadian Space Agency" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Space_Agency">CSA</a> (Canada).<sup id="cite_ref-ISSRG_7-0" class="reference"><a href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Space_Station#cite_note-ISSRG-7">[7]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-PartStates_8-0" class="reference"><a href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Space_Station#cite_note-PartStates-8">[8]</a></sup> The ownership and use of the space station is established by intergovernmental treaties and agreements.<sup id= "cite_ref-ESA-IGA_9-0" class="reference"><a href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Space_Station#cite_note-ESA-IGA-9">[9]</a></sup> The station serves as a <a class="mw-redirect" title= "Microgravity" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microgravity">microgravity</a> and <a title="Space environment" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_environment">space environment</a> research laboratory in which <a title= "Scientific research on the International Space Station" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_research_on_the_International_Space_Station">scientific research</a> is conducted in <a title="Astrobiology" href="https://en.wikipedia.o