NASA app unravels space station working for layman

NASA has launched an app that tells you pretty much everything you need to know about what the International Space Station (ISS) is up to.

Called the Space Station Earthquake Explorer, it has a section that caters solely to experiments, which is then divided into various categories.

The section takes you on a tour of science components aboard the Columbus, Kibo and Destiny modules on the ISS, the Weather Network reported.

If you want to know how the science will help you, there is a benefits section as well.

The media section features podcasts, videos and games.

The ISS serves as a microgravity and space environment research laboratory in which crew members conduct experiments in biology, human biology, physics, astronomy, meteorology and other fields.

NASA is using the space station to conduct cutting-edge research and technology development and to increase our knowledge about what it takes to live and work for long periods of time in space.

Just over 72 metres long, 108 metres wide and 20 metres tall, the ISS is maintained at an altitude of between 330 km and 410 km from the Earth. It completes 15.7 orbits per day, speeding along at an average of 27,724 km an hour.

Scientific research aboard the space station reached new heights in 2014 as crew members conducted hundreds of scientific investigations that focused on human health, technology testing for enabling future exploration, and research in life and physical sciences.