SCIENCE
What Can Scott Kelly’s Record Space Voyage Tell NASA About Journey To Mars? [Watch]
- Jason Gussen , Design & Trend
- Mar, 06, 2016, 12:50 PM
The Soviet-inspired Soyuz-TMA-18M spacecraft landed in Kazakhstan on March 3, 2016. According to Wired, the Soyuz carried Scott Kelly and two Russian astronauts.
Kelly told The New York Times that the time he spent in space "seemed like... forever." Kelly's three other trips, combined with this orbital mission, break the record for total combined days in space at 520. Valeri Polyakov, a Russian astronaut, holds the record for the most time spent in space in one trip at 438 days.
The trip, slightly more than half the time required to reach Mars, took a toll on the traveler.
The New York Times reports that Kelly's skin, not acclimated to touch and the atmospheric conditions of Earth, burned upon arrival. Kelly also reported fatigue and soreness.
Wired claims that medics will examine Kelly for "fluid shift" involving the transfer of water throughout the body in the absence of gravity. Past astronauts have also experienced nearsightedness as eyes flatten in zero gravity.
Kelly left numerous blood and urine samples aboard the ISS. NASA hopes to learn, among other things, the impact of long-term weightlessness on bone, nerve, muscle and the cardiovascular system. The New York Times reports that a SpaceX cargo capsule plans to retrieve these samples because the Soyuz does not have refrigeration.
According to Arstechnica, Kelly's twin brother Mark was closely monitored on Earth to provide a baseline for Kelly's physical and mental state. The site says that the findings from the study will not be available for at least a year.
Space.com says that Kelly will undergo a 1.5 month vigorous reconditioning regiment in order to combat the debilitating effects of weightlessness.
The new class of astronauts will have to beat Kelly's numbers of nearly a year in space and 144 million miles aboard the International Space Station. Needless to say, it's more than a tall task.
NASA claims the trip to Mars will take approximately 1.6 years. However, there are many factors to consider regarding orbits and distances between the two planets. NASA calls their breakdown of these factors the Hoeman Transfer Obit.
The Hoeman plan, dubbed "the mainstay of interplanetary space travel," states that astronauts would need to spend three to four months on Mars waiting for favorable return conditions, according to NASA.
The ISS has acted as a test center for long-term space travel. Now the data provided by Kelly will give NASA a better look at deep space exploration.
Watch one of Scott Kelly's life in space videos below.
