WASHINGTON: NASA has successfully installed the first expandable structure to the International Space Station (ISS) to study concepts for habitats that may be crucial for future deep space exploration. 

The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) will remain attached to the space station for a two-year test period, NASA said. 

At the time of installation, the ISS was flying over the Southern Pacific Ocean. 

NASA is studying concepts for habitats that can keep astronauts healthy during space exploration. 

Expandable habitats are one such concept under consideration - they require less payload volume on the rocket than traditional rigid structures, and expand after being deployed in space to provide additional room for astronauts to live and work inside. 

BEAM will be the first test of such a module attached to the space station. 

It will allow investigators to gauge how well it performs overall, and how it protects against solar radiation, space debris and the temperature extremes of space. 

BEAM was launched aboard SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft on April 8 from Florida. 

At the end of May, the module will be expanded to nearly five times its compressed size of 8 feet in diameter by 7 feet in length to roughly 10 feet in diameter and 13 feet in length, NASA said. 

Astronauts will enter BEAM on an occasional basis to conduct tests to validate the module's overall performance and the capability of expandable habitats. 

After the testing period is completed, BEAM will be released from the space station to eventually burn up harmlessly in the Earth's atmosphere.

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