The International Space Station is a major cooperative project jointly pursued by the United States, Russia, Japan, Canada, and several European countries. It has been continuously inhabited by a rotating crew of two or three since November 2000. With the aim of providing the resident crew with an environment that resembles the conditions on earth, NASA drew up a plan to install a DVD player for relaxation. Various possibilities were explored, but the fact that the batteries on the ISS provide the same voltage as found in 12 Volt automotive systems led to the decision to use equipment originally designed for car use. After stringent tests of various products by major manufacturers from around the world, the Clarion Multimedia Station VRX935VD (replaced by a future model) and 6-disc DVD Changer VCZ625 were selected to provide playback capability for a range of formats including DVD, CD, CD-R/RW, and MP3. The renowned reliability of Clarion's automotive DVD players played a major role in the decision.