You are looking at the coolest house in the galaxy. This is an
illustration of the new International Space Station (ISS), a joint construction project of the United States, Russia, Japan, Brazil, Canada and the ten-nation European Space Agency. Although the ISS is already partially built and in orbit, when it's completed in 2004 this galactic mansion will be larger than two football fields, weigh more than one million pounds and circle Earth at speeds up to 18,000 mph. So, who will live there? Sometime this year, one American and two Russian astronauts will move in. Obviously, your kids can't join them, but on the next few pages they can get in on the adventure. Check out our ideas for making a control panel, learn amazing facts about station life, taste a space lunch, experiment with gravity or strap on an easy-to-make Rocket Pack and fly around the living room.
