US: Joe Biden govt extends NASA's participation in the International Space Station to 2030

The Joe Biden-led US administration has extended International Space Station (ISS) operations through 2030, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced on Saturday, January 1. Taking to Twitter, Nelson thanked the Biden-Harris Administration for their commitment towards the extension of NASA's participation in space and stated that this will enhance innovation and competitiveness. In his Tweet, he also wrote that this announcement will ensure the development of technologies that will take the first woman to the Moon and eventually to Mars.

The commitment will benefit humanity: US VP Harris

Nelson's statement was a response to Vice President Kamala Harris who first announced US' commitment towards "scientific discovery, international and commercial partnerships, innovation, and inspiration". She also stated that this will benefit humanity and allow the astronauts to prepare for future missions.

The International Space Station is an orbiting observatory nearly 400 kilometres above the Earth and has been developed by the efforts of four international partners- the European Space Agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Canadian Space Agency and Russia's Roscosmos. Until now, the ISS has hosted over 3,000 research investigations from over 4,200 global researchers. Besides, nearly 110 countries and over 15,00,000 students have participated per year in STEM activities aboard the space station. Talking about the importance of the observatory, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said as per the agency's official blog-

The International Space Station is a beacon of peaceful international scientific collaboration and for more than 20 years has returned enormous scientific, educational, and technological developments to benefit humanity. 

He added that it is more important than ever that the US leads in terms of peaceful and responsible use of space since more nations are participating in space explorations. "It’s more important than ever that the United States continues to lead the world in growing international alliances and modelling rules and norms for the peaceful and responsible use of space", Nelson said.

According to NASA's blog, some of the ISS instruments are used to measure the stresses of drought and the health of forests, through which scientists study the carbon-climate interaction at different time scales. The agency states that these climate-related instruments if operated through the end of the decade, will help greatly help the scientists better understand the climate cycle. 

Image: Twitter/@VP