The International Space Station (ISS) has recently had some new interesting visitors to join them in space, which are actually part of the experimentation. The new addition is of an aquarium on the ISS to study how well the aquatic life can take to space. On July 27, 2012, the unmanned Japanese cargo ship, Kounotori3 (HTV3) had delivered them. The aquarium in which these marine lives are being kept is not an ordinary one, but is called the Aquatic Habit (AQH).

It is a high-tech aquarium which has been specifically made to sustain itself under zero gravity. The best part is, it does not require much maintenance from the crew as it can feed the fish itself. There have been earlier similar studies where other marine life was sent into space to study the effects. But this one has been permanently installed on the ISS. The AQH has two chambers that work as habitats for fish and can hold up to 700 cc of water. It has advance life support system which self-monitors the condition in these two habitats and automatically removes waste.

It checks the pressure and oxygen levels and maintains the temperatures too. Having an aquarium with beautiful fish to look at on the inside is such a delight and the astronauts will certainly have someone to keep them company when they are taking a little time off their hectic work schedules. The study on the aquarium in space will help scientists to under human health issues too and will help them in developmental biology.