International Space Station
This image of the International Space Station and the docked space shuttle Endeavour, flying at an altitude of approximately 220 miles, was taken by Expedition 27 crew member Paolo Nespoli from the Soyuz TMA-20 following its undocking on May 23, 2011 (USA time). The pictures taken by Nespoli are the first taken of a shuttle docked to the International Space Station from the perspective of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Onboard the Soyuz were Russian cosmonaut and Expedition 27 commander Dmitry Kondratyev; Nespoli, a European Space Agency astronaut; and NASA astronaut Cady Coleman. Coleman and Nespoli were both flight engineers. The three landed in Kazakhstan later that day, completing 159 days in space. NASA

NASA is calling for more international cooperation when it comes to space exploration, saying the move will make space travel more economical.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden made the announcement Monday at the 62nd International Astronautical Congress in Cape Town, South Africa amid space leaders from Europe, India, Japan and Russia, Agence France-Presse reported.

It's important for as many nations as possible to join in the exploration effort, Bolden said, Creamer Media reported. No one nation is going to be able to do the things that we all want to do alone, so it's very important for every nation to participate.

Private missions, he said, would also be important for future space endeavors.

It is months before we have commercial entities carrying cargo to the International Space Station, not years, Bolden told AFP. Commercial transportation of cargo and crew remain crucial, if not critical, to our future aboard the International Space Station.

Bolden had hinted at international cooperation in a speech on Saturday at the 10th annual Space Generation Congress.

Our common space exploration goals with our international partners are now beginning to take the form of a Global Exploration Roadmap, Bolden said, adding later that he had the privilege of working with international crews, all focused on the same big goals and sharing our triumphs and successes as a team.

I hope many of you have the chance to experience that in the years to come, he said.

Russia India Japan NASA