Astronaut and Cosmonaut team up for year-long mission on the ISS
Meteorologist/Science Writer
Thursday, January 15, 2015, 7:24 PM - In March, two men will begin a year-long mission on board the International Space Station, which will represent the longest period of time anyone has spent in space so far.
Around two months from now, Expedition 43 will be launching up into near-Earth orbit, with NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, and Russian Cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Gennady Padalka joining the crew to conduct science experiments and continue the mission of international cooperation the station represents. While Gennady Padalka will be taking command of the station for the second half of his six month stay in orbit, Scott Kelly (on the left, below) and Mikhail Kornienko (on the right) will be the first humans to spend a full year in space.
Credit: NASA
According to NASA:
|
| The One-Year Mission will focus on seven categories of research. In March 2015, American Astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian Cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko will begin collaborative investigations on the International Space Station (ISS). They will reside on the ISS for a year, which is twice as long as typical U.S. missions. These investigations are expected to yield beneficial knowledge on the medical, psychological and biomedical challenges faced by astronauts during long-duration space flight. |
|
That's not all, though. Along side this joint mission, Scott Kelly will be participating in the Twin Study with his brother, former NASA astronaut Mark Kelly.
Credit: NASA
According to the website:
|
| The Twins Study is ten separate investigations coordinating together and sharing all data and analysis as one large, integrated research team. NASA has selected 10 investigations to conduct with identical twin astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly. These investigations will provide broader insight into the subtle effects and changes that may occur in spaceflight as compared to Earth by studying two individuals who have the same genetics, but are in different environments for one year. |
|
RELATED VIDEO: Astronaut Scott Kelly answers questions about the One-Year Mission from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan.
To learn more about how the human body is affected by being in the low-g environment of the space station, NASA has an interactive feature on their website (click here).
