Few symbols of global cooperation resonate as much as the International Space Station. The space station, which celebrated 15 years of study last week, is arguably the most dynamic learning and experimental laboratory on (or off) the planet.

With each supply ship that docks there, 250 miles up, another scientist leaves behind the petty politics of Earth to contribute scientific expertise to a mission that transcends national interests.

Cooperation on the space station – a series of interconnected modules traveling at 5 miles a second – is expected to continue for at least nine more years between the United States, Canada, Europe, Russia and Japan. Many of the scientists who have staffed the platform weren’t even born the last time someone walked on the moon. But they are collaborating on the technologies needed to travel to Mars in the next decade.

Humans still don’t know enough about physiology in zero gravity, for instance. Although many other experiments have been conducted on the space station, pursuing its mission costs $3 billion a year. NASA tries to console itself that with each new piece of knowledge, the space station brings humanity closer to a countdown to Mars.

The space station is one of the best things about humanity. NASA’s administrator even believes it should be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. As the embodiment of international cooperation and scientific endeavor, it is humanity’s ticket to the planets.

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