Expedition 43 crew members are preparing for their yearlong stay at the International Space Station.
Scott Kelly of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Gennady Padalka and Mikhail Kornienko of the Russian Federal Space Agency, commonly known as Roscosmos, are the crew members of Expedition 43.
On Friday, March 27, Russian spacecraft Soyuz will launch with the trio from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The crew members will reach the ISS on the same day. Kelly and Kornienko will spend one full year, while Padalka is estimated to spend six months at the space station.
The aim of the mission is to understand the human body's adaptation and reactions to a severe space environment. Data collected during the 12-month stay of the astronauts will help scientists understand if there are ways to reduce risks arising due to long space stays. The data will help determine long-duration deep space missions to asteroids and then to Mars.
"The crew will support several hundred experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science and Earth science - research that impacts life on Earth. Data and samples will be collected throughout the year from a series of studies involving Scott and his twin brother, former NASA astronaut Mark Kelly," per a NASA statement.
NASA will analyze data collected from the twin brothers to understand any subtle biological changes which may occur as a result of the long space flight.
This will be the first time that a NASA astronaut will spend one year in space and for any astronaut to spend 12 months at the ISS. Miguel López-Alegría, a NASA astronaut, has spent 215 days on the ISS, the longest time spent by an American in space.
However, cosmonauts from Roscosmos have spent even more than a year in the space. Valeri Polyakov of Roscosmos holds the record for the longest stay in the space. Polyakov spent 437 day on the Mir space station.
There are many celestial objects in the space; however, humans only once have reached as far as the moon. Support for the exploration of Mars has gained a lot of traction in the last few decades. There are probes exploring the Martian surface and spacecraft hovering over the Red Planet. NASA and other space agencies are hoping to send a manned mission to Mars soon.
NASA hopes it is able to collect important data during the one-year mission to the ISS, data which help the agency plan for its future expeditions to Mars.
Prelaunch, launch and docking coverage will be available on NASA TV. Check out the coverage times on NASA TV.
