The International Space Station (ISS) is a large spacecraft in low Earth orbit that serves as a microgravity and space environment research laboratory. It is a joint project between five participating space agencies - NASA (US), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), and CSA (Canada). The ISS provides a platform to conduct scientific research in microgravity, study the effects of long term space exposure on the human body, and develop technologies needed for future deep space exploration.