The World’s Most Expensive Studio Apartment

The International Space Station is, by any measure, the most expensive structure ever built. Its total cost exceeds $150 billion (some estimates reach $250 billion when factoring in all partner nation contributions and 25 years of operation). NASA spends approximately $3–4 billion per year just to keep it running. It orbits Earth at 17,500 mph, 254 miles above the surface, and offers its crew of 6–7 astronauts approximately 13,696 cubic feet of habitable volume — roughly equivalent to a six-bedroom house, but shared among the entire crew, with no yard, no kitchen sink, and no gravity.

A Mt. Sinai colonial, by comparison, costs $640,000–$733,000, comes with a yard, a kitchen that uses gravity to keep food on your plate, and a mortgage payment that is approximately $3.999997 billion less per year than the ISS operating budget. Let’s explore this comparison with the seriousness it deserves, which is to say: some, but not too much.

1. Housing Comparison: Orbital Module vs. Colonial

Metric	International Space Station	Mt. Sinai Home
Total Cost	$150–250 billion	$640K–$733K
Annual Operating Cost	$3–4 billion/yr (NASA)	$25K–$40K (mortgage + tax + ins.)
Habitable Volume	13,696 cu ft (shared by 6-7)	~60,000+ cu ft (your family only)
Bedrooms	7 sleeping pods (phone-booth size)	3–5 actual bedrooms
Bathrooms	2 (vacuum-operated)	1.5–3.5 (gravity-operated)
Kitchen	Rehydration station + warming oven	Full kitchen with appliances
Yard	View of entire Earth	Actual grass, trees, garden
Gravity	Microgravity (0g)	1g (bones stay strong)
Internet Speed	~300 Mbps (recent upgrade)	Standard broadband/fiber
Pets Allowed	No	Yes

The ISS sleeping quarters — called ‘crew quarters’ — are roughly the size of a phone booth: a padded compartment with a sleeping bag velcroed to the wall, a small window, a laptop, and a reading light. Astronauts sleep floating in their bags, tethered to prevent drifting into equipment. In Mt. Sinai, your primary bedroom typically features a queen or king bed, a closet, and windows that open to let in the breeze off Long Island Sound. The difference in sleep quality is, we suspect, significant.

The ISS toilet deserves special mention. Because liquid and solid waste behave unpredictably in microgravity, the space toilet uses a vacuum suction system with specially designed funnels and bags. Astronauts must strap themselves in and aim carefully. The system cost approximately $23 million. A standard American toilet costs about $200 and works perfectly thanks to the gravity that Mt. Sinai offers at no additional charge.

2. Daily Life: Floating vs. Grounded

ISS astronauts follow a rigidly scheduled day: 6.5 hours of sleep, 2.5 hours of mandatory exercise (to prevent the bone density loss and muscle atrophy caused by microgravity), 6.5 hours of scheduled work (experiments, maintenance, spacewalks), and the remainder for meals, personal time, and communication with family. Meals consist of rehydrated or thermostabilized food pouches — think military MREs, but in zero gravity, where crumbs become airborne hazards that can clog equipment.

In Mt. Sinai, you wake up, make coffee, drive your kids to school, go to work (or work from home), pick up groceries at Stop & Shop, walk the dog at Heritage Park, grill dinner in your backyard, and fall asleep in a real bed. The mundanity is the luxury.

The ISS has been continuously occupied since November 2, 2000 — over 25 years. In that time, 292 individuals from 26 countries have visited. Compare this to Mt. Sinai’s population of 12,326 permanent residents who live there every day without needing a Soyuz capsule to get home.

▶ Video: Tour of the International Space Station — Watch on YouTube

▶ Video: Long Island North Shore Living — Watch on YouTube

3. Science & Achievement

Credit where it’s due: the ISS has produced extraordinary science. Over 4,000 scientific investigations have been conducted aboard the station, resulting in 4,400+ published papers. Research areas include protein crystal growth for drug development, 3D bioprinting of living tissue, combustion science, fluid physics, plant biology in microgravity, and studies on the long-term effects of spaceflight on the human body (Scott Kelly’s famous year-in-space twin study).

Mount Sinai’s scientific contribution comes through proximity to Stony Brook University, which conducts world-class research in physics, marine science, biomedical engineering, and more. Brookhaven National Laboratory — a U.S. Department of Energy facility with a particle accelerator and a Nobel Prize-winning history — is within driving distance. You get access to frontier science without the bone loss.

4. The Price of Admission

Want to visit the ISS as a private citizen? NASA charges $5.2 million per person for crew time, $88,000–$164,000 per person per day for food and cargo pre-staging, and $2,000 per person per day for food. A hypothetical 10-day private visit could cost $8–10 million before you even count the SpaceX Crew Dragon launch (approximately $55 million per seat). Total: roughly $65 million for 10 days in a shared studio apartment with a vacuum toilet.

For $65 million, you could buy approximately 87 homes in Mt. Sinai at the current median price. That’s an entire neighborhood. With yards.

5. Active Mt. Sinai Listings — More Space Than the Space Station

Waterfront Lot on 1.1 Acres — Mt. Sinai

Price: $649,000

Details: 0 (vacant land) Beds | — Baths | 1.1 acres Sq Ft

One of the last waterfront properties in Mt. Sinai. Build your dream coastal retreat. The ISS has 0.92 acres of solar panels but zero acres of buildable land. This lot alone offers more usable space than the entire pressurized volume of the station.

View This Listing on Heritage Diner IDX: https://search.heritagediner.com/idx/search/address

Briarwood Colonial in The Villages — Mt. Sinai

Price: $999,000

Details: 5 Beds | 3.5 Baths | 4,200+ Sq Ft

Gated community with 24-hour security, grand double staircase, formal living and dining rooms, butlery pantry. The ISS crew quarters are 88 cubic feet per person. This home’s primary suite alone exceeds the entire ISS crew sleeping area.

View This Listing on Heritage Diner IDX: https://search.heritagediner.com/idx/search/address

Updated 4BR Colonial — Mt. Sinai

Price: $649,000

Details: 4 Beds | 1.5 Baths | 2,100 Sq Ft

Freshly painted, new floors, granite counters, stainless appliances, in-ground pool, outdoor kitchen with granite counter, Trex deck. Total cost: less than 1% of one ISS private visit.

View This Listing on Heritage Diner IDX: https://search.heritagediner.com/idx/search/address

6. The ISS Is Retiring. Mt. Sinai Is Appreciating.

The ISS is scheduled for deorbiting around 2030. After 30+ years of service, it will be intentionally crashed into the Pacific Ocean’s ‘spacecraft cemetery’ (Point Nemo). Its replacement — commercial space stations from Axiom Space, Blue Origin’s Orbital Reef, and others — is years away and uncertain. The ISS, for all its magnificence, is a depreciating asset heading for the ocean floor.

Mt. Sinai homes, by contrast, have appreciated 11.6–16.3% year-over-year with no plans for deorbiting. The asset appreciates. The community grows. The beach stays.

Conclusion: Orbit Is Optional. Home Equity Is Essential.

The International Space Station is one of humanity’s greatest engineering achievements. Living there, however, requires giving up gravity, privacy, fresh food, sunshine, pets, and approximately $65 million per visit. Mt. Sinai offers all of those things for a price that starts under $600K. The math is not close. Contact Paola Meyer at Realty Connect USA to find your space — with gravity included.

SEO Keywords: ISS vs Mt Sinai NY, space station living cost, Mt Sinai homes for sale, Long Island real estate, NASA ISS cost, Heritage Diner, Paola Meyer broker, North Shore Long Island, space vs suburban living