The International Space Station marks a quarter-century of continuous occupancy this weekend, boasting a guest list of nearly 300 — mostly professional astronauts but also the occasional space tourist and movie director. The first full-time residents opened the hatch on Nov. 2, 2000.

The ISS has “come into its own as a very sophisticated scientific laboratory,” says retired NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, who famously spent a year in space aboard the station in 2015 and 2016.

The ISS has been in low orbit above the earth for almost 25 years. It’s played host to astronauts from around the world. But that’s about to come to an end.NASA is gearing up to deorbit the ISS in 2030 and it’s working with private companies to begin development of commercial space stations to take its place.

Its first modules were launched in 1998. The first crew to live on the International Space Station – an American and two Russians – entered it in 2000. Nov. 2, 2025, marks 25 years of continuous habitation by at least two people, and as many as 13 at one time. It is a singular example of international cooperation that has stood the test of time.

As the U.S. government shutdown continues to halt NASA updates, a JAXA astronaut's photos show work continues on the space station.

Harvesting solar energy in orbit and beaming it down to Earth is a decades-old idea. Now, a raft of companies say they could make it a reality.

There has been much discussion in the space community recently about building large data centers in orbit to avoid the environmental consequences of sprawling computing facilities on Earth. These space-based data centers could take advantage of the always-on, free fusion reactor at the center of the Solar System.