How it started vs. how it's going⁣ ⁣ Today marks the 25th anniversary of operations on the International Space Station (ISS). On Dec. 6, 1998, the station's first two elements—the Unity and Zarya modules—were joined in low Earth orbit.⁣ ⁣ Since Nov. 2, 2000, humans have lived and worked continuously on the orbiting laboratory, bringing together international flight crews to perform more than 3,300 research and educational investigations for the benefit of humanity. The ISS has been visited by 273 people from 21 countries working together to prepare future human explorations for travel to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.⁣ ⁣ Swipe to see how the International Space Station started and what it looks like now.⁣ ⁣ Image descriptions: ⁣ 1. View of the space station circa 2000 in the darkness of space. It consists of two cylindrical modules joined at their short ends. The Unity module on the left is slightly more gray than the longer cream-colored Zarya module on the right. A pair of solar panels ...