DEFINITION:

One of the benefits of space exploration is international cooperation. Although the Age of Space began in a fiercely competitive mode, political and funding realities have now shifted the balance toward cooperation. This is particularly true in the case of the International Space Station, with its 16 partner nations. And it promises to be increasingly true with the Vision for Space Exploration.

(Source: NASA https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/whyweexplore/Why_We_10.html )