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Celebrating 20 years of human life on the ISS with NASA

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Today we're proud to announce on Google Arts & Culture a new online celebration of this week’s 20th anniversary of humans living and working on the International Space Station (ISS). Created in collaboration with NASA, this project includes NASA collections, stories, and some new games to help anybody learn more and engage in this important milestone in space exploration.

20 years ago, when the first crew of permanent astronauts, cosmonauts, and researchers arrived at their new home on the ISS it opened a new chapter in human space exploration. Today, we’re able to look back on all that’s happened, from cutting-edge research to benefit humanity, to building essential foundations for international cooperation on our shared home: Earth.

For the first time on Google Arts & Culture, viewers will be able to explore a newly uploaded 3D model of the ISS, making it possible to bring the station back down to Earth and undertake fascinating examinations of each module of the station in incredible detail.

Also debuting is a new multiplayer Puzzle Party experiment. As our first game produced in collaboration with a single partner, it includes a dedicated set of images from NASA’s ISS archives on Google Arts & Culture to play with your friends and family. Piece together photographs ranging from the exterior views of the space station to astronauts on spacewalks, to learn more about the incredible work being done up in orbit.

Feeling inspired? Now you can recreate and remix some of the most iconic shots from the ISS — from shuttle launches to sightings of Earth from the station’s picture window known as the Cupola — with a NASA edition of the Art Coloring Book experiment, allowing anyone to make these images their own.

Dr. Gary Kitmacher, Mission Manager for ISS Communications and Education, helped curate the NASA experiences and provided subject matter expertise to this project. “I have dedicated 36 years of my life following and reporting on this incredible human adventure and the amazing achievements of the ISS. Partnering with Google Arts & Culture on this ISS 20th Project enables NASA to bring these stories to a new audience.”

  • Customize iconic images from the past 20 years of the ISS in your favorite colors with the NASA Edition of the Art Coloring Book.

    Customize iconic images from the past 20 years of the ISS in your favorite colors with the NASA Edition of the Art Coloring Book.

  • Explore the space station in three dimensions with a highly detailed model created by NASA experts.

    Explore the space station in three dimensions with a highly detailed model created by NASA experts.

  • The International Space Station photographed by Expedition 56 crew members from a Soyuz spacecraft after undocking.

    The International Space Station photographed by Expedition 56 crew members from a Soyuz spacecraft after undocking.

  • NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson, Expedition 23 flight engineer, works with experiment hardware in the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) located in the Columbus laboratory of the International Space Station.

    NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson, Expedition 23 flight engineer, works with experiment hardware in the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) located in the Columbus laboratory of the International Space Station.

  • Space shuttle Endeavour rises on twin columns of flame from Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on the STS-134 mission to the International Space Station.

    Space shuttle Endeavour rises on twin columns of flame from Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on the STS-134 mission to the International Space Station.

We are excited to celebrate and share with everyone the human achievement that is the International Space Station with NASA through this Google Arts & Culture project.

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