A world apart: eerily deserted images of the ISS give a unique perspective on life in space

An overhead view of the International Space Station's Combined Operational Load-Bearing External Resistance Treadmill - C.O.L.B.E.R.T. – otherwise known as a running machine. Prolonged weightlessness can exert a toll on the human body, and regular exercise is critical to maintain bone density and muscle mass: astronauts are encouraged to exercise for two hours a day. The straps attach to a harness that tensions the astronauts while on the machine. Though an acronym, the treadmill's name was a nod to The Late Show host Stephen Colbert. 

Crew provisions and equipment in storage in the port endcone. The ISS is resupplied via automated craft several times a year, but on-board stocks must be kept for essential components and components likely to fail, as well as more domestic items. As Nespoli puts it: "If the oxygen pump breaks, I can’t go to the shop to buy a new part. There is no shop." 

The U.S. laboratory on the Destiny module of the International Space Station. The first American orbital research facility since the closure of SkyLab in 1974, experiments in the facility have included the harvesting of vegetables, and an array of biological, physiological and environmental observations.  

This image shows the view port-aft, with Pressurised Mating Adaptor 1 (on left) and Node 3 (on right). The different hubs connecting the modules of the ISS are called 'nodes', which also form part of the habitable sections of the space station. Earth-bound photographer Roland Miller described the space station as being unexpectedly intricate: 'In my early research of the International Space Station’s layout, I was surprised at the complexity of the interior. It was overwhelming at first.'