Moscow: The International Space Station (ISS) has made its 150,000th revolution around the Earth since the beginning of its space mission, Roscosmos said on Tuesday. "The station's anniversary revolution around our planet lasted from 1:32 pm Moscow time to 3:05 pm Moscow time, which was a flight from Indonesia's Sumatra Island to the Indian Ocean," the state corporation said in a statement published on its Telegram channel.
According to Emirates News Agency, the station has flown a total of 6.4 billion kilometers during its entire operation. "This is 30 times more than the average distance from Earth to Mars, four times more than from Earth to Saturn and almost as far as the orbit of Pluto," it stated. The ISS mission began on 20th November 1998 with the launch of the first module, the Zarya functional cargo block, into orbit.
The ISS completes an average of 16 revolutions around the Earth every day, the statement added. This continuous orbiting has allowed the station to cover significant distances and contribute to space research and international cooperation.