Most of our students will never experience life in the International Space Station, but that doesn’t mean they cannot take a tour of it. The following resources are designed to help students learn about life in space.

NASA’s ISS Interactive Reference provides students with a guided virtual tour of the International Space Station. The reference is divided into three parts; How it Works, 360 tour, and How the Crew Lives. The How it Works section explains how the ISS was built, how it is powered, and how it and the crew are supported. The 360 tour features interactive images of the inside and outside of the ISS. Finally, How the Crew Lives features videos on how crew members eat, sleep, and exercise in space.

To learn more about how the crew lives aboard the International Space Station, take a look at the following 25 minute video in which a former commander of the International Space Station, Sunita Williams takes viewers on an in-depth tour of the International Space Station. In the video you’ll get the answers to almost everything you may have wondered about regarding living in space for weeks or months at a time. Williams shows us the laboratories, the space suits for space walks, the kitchen, and the sleeping quarters. Williams even shows us the space station’s “outhouse” and goes so far as to explain the different types of toilet paper on the space station.

Spacewalk is a multiplayer game in which players explore the International Space Station. Spacewalk players take on the roles of astronauts in the International Space Station. You can download the game to use on Windows, Mac, or Linux computers. If you’re a Windows user you can control your player with an Xbox 360 controller. Other players will have to use the their keyboards to control their players.

H/T to Tech & Learning Magazine for the ISS Interactive Reference.