NASA HRP Twins Research Study with Craig KundrotNASA.gov Video

Identical twins Scott and Mark Kelly are to be separated for a year: Scott will spend a year on the International Space Station while Mark will stay behind. This unprecedented experiment aims to improve understanding of the impact of long-term space flight on the human body.

Nasa astronaut Scott will head up to the ISS in March 2015, where he will join cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko for a year. Mark is also an astronaut, although has retired, so will stay at home acting as a control while his brother orbits the Earth at 27,000 KPH. The twins will undergo a series of tests before, during and after the mission. "For the first time, we'll be able to study two individuals who are genetically identical," said Craig Kundrot of Nasa's Human Research Program at Johnson Space Centre.

Nasa is to fund 10 investigations into the molecular, physiological and psychological effects of spaceflight. It has selected 10 proposals (out of 40) from 10 institutions, and has allocated $1.5 million (900,000) in funding to them in total over three years. These include studies of vision and intracranial pressure, gut bacteria, DNA and RNA methylation, cognition and vascular function. In one study, for example, both twins will be given a flu vaccine to see how their immune systems react.

Scott has already spent six months on the space station and been on board two space shuttle flights. Mark has been on four space shuttle flights and spent 54 days in low-Earth orbit. Throughout the year that Scott is on the Space Station, Mark will be living out his life in Arizona.

Nasa has a keen interest on the impact of microgravity on the human body, particularly as we cross into an era of long-term space travel, such as manned missions to Mars.

See the original post here:

One twin to spend year in space to study impact on body