One of the biggest lessons of the ISS is the value of exploration: there are often unexpected benefits from the journey itself as well as from the attainment of the objective. The ISS has played a key role in advancing multiple scientific disciplines, including pharmaceutical research for cancer treatment and prevention, commercial and non-governmental applications, Earth sciences, and remote sensing for terrestrial resource management.
Walls and borders do not engender peaceful coexistence; rather, peace occurs through openness and sharing. Despite years of evidence and examples of working, exploring, and living in peace, the ISS has not yet received the well-earned global acknowledgement of its successes. This is a model that can exist on Earth, for Earth.
Now, just about anyone who lives on our planet can look up on a clear night and see the International Space Station transit the starry sky. It outshines all other satellites in the heavens and stands singularly as a powerful testament to international progress and peace, to a level field of Equal Space™.
The ISS has pioneered new and innovative approaches to fostering international cooperation. Perhaps most importantly, the effort involved in sustaining the program while integrating various national interests and investments has transformed what was at times a fragile and precarious coalition at its start into a strong and united international partnership committed to common peaceful goals.