The Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft is seen as it launches
to the International Space Station with Expedition 43's NASA Astronaut Scott
Kelly and Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Gennady Padalka of the
Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) onboard Friday, March 27 (Saturday,
March 28 Kazakh time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Image Credit:
NASA/Bill Ingalls
Three crew members representing the United States and Russia are on their way
to the International Space Station after launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
in Kazakhstan at 3:42 p.m. EDT Friday (1:42 a.m., March 28 in Baikonur).
NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos)
cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko will spend about a year living and working aboard
the space station to help scientists better understand how the human body reacts
and adapts to the harsh environment of space.
NASA astronaut Scott Kelly gives a thumbs-up from
inside the Soyuz TMA-16M taking him and Expedition 43 crewmates Mikhail
Kornienko, and Gennady Padalka of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos)
to the International Space Station after a successful launch from the Baikonur
Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Image Credit:
NASA
“Scott Kelly’s mission is critical to advancing the administration’s plan to
send humans on a journey to Mars,” said NASA Administrator Charles
Bolden. “We’ll gain new, detailed insights on the ways long-duration spaceflight
affects the human body.”
Launching with Kelly and Kornienko was cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, who will
spend a standard six-month rotation on the station. The trio is scheduled to
dock with the station at 9:36 p.m., about six hours after launch. NASA
Television coverage of docking will begin at 8:45 p.m. Hatches are scheduled to
open at about 11:15 p.m., with coverage starting at 10:45 p.m.
Expedition 43 crew members Mikhail Kornienko of the
Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), top, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly,
center, and Gennady Padalka of Roscosmos wave farewell as they board the Soyuz
TMA-16M spacecraft ahead of their launch to the International Space
Station.
Image Credit:
NASA/Bill Ingalls
The arrival of Kelly, Kornienko and Padalka returns the station's crew
complement to six. The three will join Expedition 43 commander Terry Virts of
NASA, as well as flight engineers Samantha Cristoforetti of ESA (European Space
Agency) and Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos, who have been aboard the complex
since November.
NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut
Mikhail Kornienko will spend nearly twelve months conducting important human
research studies that will provide new insights into how the human body adjusts
to weightlessness, isolation, radiation and stress of long-duration spaceflight.
Image Credit:
NASA
Virts, Cristoforetti and Shkaplerov will return home in May. At that time,
Padalka will take command of Expedition 44, becoming the first person to command
four station crews. Padalka will return in September, while Kelly and Kornienko
will remain aboard until March 2016.
The one-year mission will focus on seven key areas of human research.
Functional studies will examine crew member performance during and after the
12-month expedition. Behavioral studies will monitor sleep patterns and exercise
routines. Visual impairment will be studied by measuring changes in pressure
inside the human skull. Metabolic investigations will examine the immune system
and effects of stress.
Physical performance will be monitored through exercise examinations.
Microbial changes in the crew will be monitored, as well as the human factors
associated with how the crew interacts aboard the station. Each of these key
elements carries a potential benefit for populations here on Earth, from
functional improvements for patients recovering from a long period of bed rest
to improving the monitoring of immune functions of people on Earth with altered
immunity.
Data from Kelly and Kornienko’s 342-day expedition will be used to determine
whether there are ways to further reduce the risks on future long-duration
missions necessary for deep space missions.
In tandem with the one-year mission, Kelly’s identical twin brother, former
NASA astronaut Mark Kelly, will participate in a number of comparative genetic
studies, including the collection of blood samples as well as psychological and
physical tests. This research will compare data from the genetically identical
Kelly brothers to identify any subtle changes caused by spaceflight.
The tests will track any degeneration or evolution that occurs in the human
body from extended exposure to a microgravity environment. These new twin
studies are a multi-faceted national cooperation between universities,
corporations and government laboratory expertise.
Expedition 43 will perform scientific research in several other fields, such
as astrophysics and biotechnology. Among the planned experiments are a study of
meteors entering Earth’s atmosphere and testing of a new synthetic material that
can expand and contract like human muscle tissue. The crew members also are
scheduled to greet a host of cargo spacecraft during their mission, including
the sixth SpaceX commercial resupply flight and a Russian Progress resupply
mission. Each flight will carry several tons of food, fuel, supplies and
research. No spacewalks are planned during Expedition 43.
The International Space Station is a convergence of science, technology and
human innovation that demonstrates new technologies and makes research
breakthroughs that are not possible on Earth. The space station has been
continuously occupied since November 2000. In this time, it has received more
than 200 visitors and a variety of international and commercial spacecraft. The
space station remains the springboard to NASA's next giant leap in
exploration.
For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit:
For more information about this mission to the space station, visit:
For more information about the research on this mission, visit:
To follow activities on orbit, visit the space station Facebook page at:
Follow the crew members and the station on Twitter at:
and
Follow Kelly and the station on Instagram at:
and
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