ISS Node 2: Built in Italy by ESA

Node 2 (Harmony) is a European-built module of the International Space Station that serves as and integral part of the space station structure.

It is currently functioning as a utility room, docking port and sleeping quarters. 

It was built in Italy for NASA and installed on the Space Station in 2007.

Credit: Edgar Martins

Martins shot the exterior of a Node 2 mock-up in the Erasmus centre in ESA’s scientific and technical heart at ESTEC in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.

In space the docking ports are used to connect spacecraft such as the Japanese ferry HTV, commercial supply ship Cygnus and NASA’s Space Shuttle before it retired from service.

NASA refer to Node 2 as the Harmony module and it serves as an integral part of the  space station.

It was built under a Memo of Understanding (MOU), which forms part of a portfolio of collaborative agreements between NASA and ESA.

MOUs and other collaborative agreements limit the exchange of monetary funds between nations, while at the same time advancing the exploitation and exploration of Space in a mutually beneficial manner.