Nasa: ISS briefly loses contact with Houston due to power issue

The International Space Station lost contact with its base and had to use Houston's backup power for the first time ever this week.

The ISS became fully out of contact with Houston for 20 minutes, due to a power outage on the ground.

The space station manager on the ground said no crew were in any danger, and the ISS was completely fine.

Full connection was re-established after 90 minutes.

What happens on the ISS, or International Space Station?

Astronauts from different countries travel to and stay on the ISS.

It is used to carry out experiments as it moves at speeds of five miles per second.

Astronauts experience weightlessness onboard so it is a useful place to test equipment and plans for space travel.

It has been in orbit for over 20 years, and Nasa has a plan to de-orbit it in 2030.

How did the ISS lose contact with Nasa?

The Johnson Space Centre is Nasa's home in Houston, Texas

Nasa's mission control station is in Houston, in the USA.

There was a power issue at mission control, which meant that Nasa could not send messages up to the space station, and the ISS mission lost command back on Earth.

Because it is a shared space mission, the ISS also has a mission control centre in Moscow, in Russia.

The seven astronauts that are currently at the ISS were told about the communication issue by Rosmocos, which is the Russian space agency.