Mark and Scott Kelly
NASA is conducting an experiment to determine the effects of living in space on the human body. Such studies have been done before, but this one is unprecedented in the length of time the subject will spend in space (a full 365 days) and in that the participants are identical twins.
One astronaut named Scott Kelly has agreed to live in the International Space Station for a full year while his identical twin brother, Mark Kelly, has agreed to take part from the ground. Both brothers will undergo physical and psychological testing before and after Scott’s trip, and both will follow similar diets. Because the brothers share the same DNA, any changes that occur between them will likely have been caused by their environment.
This study is ground breaking as it will allow scientists to find ways to mitigate any problems that come with living in space for any future space trips, and may pave the way to one day travel to Mars, Venus, or even other systems entirely.
conorastr201 
this is a really cool study because when you have identical twins it holds a great deal of variables the same. It reminds me slightly of the comparisons of the planets that we did in class (like Venus and Mars because the same size but different distances from the Sun). It will be very interesting to see how the body will react to be in constant free fall for 365 days compared to one who has been on Earth experiencing surface gravity.
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This is really interesting; I feel like the idea of mixing biology and astronomy is becoming a lot more popular in modern studies. Hopefully this will help us understand what it is about the human body that makes the extreme temperatures and pressures in space so dangerous. This will allow for safer and more far-reaching space travel in the future.
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Grader here:
This is a super interesting experiment. I’ve heard of some advantages/disadvantages of living in space, but I’m super interested to see how it works out!
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