* Mission would help prepare for flights beyond Earth <\/p>\n
* Cosmonaut Valery Polyakov spent 438 days in orbit <\/p>\n
* Longest flight by U.S. astronaut is 215 days <\/p>\n
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Oct 4 (Reuters) - NASA is considering <\/p>\n
doubling the amount of time an astronaut spends at the <\/p>\n
International Space Station to a year, laying the groundwork for <\/p>\n
future missions deeper into space, officials said Thursday. <\/p>\n
If approved, a mission likely would begin in 2015, said NASA <\/p>\n
spokesman Rob Navias. <\/p>\n
Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported this week that the <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
See original here:<\/p>\n
NASA, Russia eye yearlong space station assignments<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" * Mission would help prepare for flights beyond Earth * Cosmonaut Valery Polyakov spent 438 days in orbit * Longest flight by U.S. astronaut is 215 days CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Oct 4 (Reuters) - NASA is considering doubling the amount of time an astronaut spends at the International Space Station to a year, laying the groundwork for future missions deeper into space, officials said Thursday. If approved, a mission likely would begin in 2015, said NASA spokesman Rob Navias. Continue reading