Two astronauts to spend a full year on the ISS in 2015, to examine endurance for deep space missions - Polidicks

[url]http://www.space.com/17924-year-long-space-station-mission-2015.html[/url] [quote=Space.com]The first-ever year-long mission to the International Space Station will launch in 2015 and feature an American-Russian crew, NASA revealed today (Oct. 5). Two astronauts — one Russian and one American — will launch together in spring 2015 on an experimental endurance mission that will last twice as long as current stays aboard the orbiting lab. The main goal is to gather data that will help lay the groundwork for manned flights to destinations in deep space, officials said. "In order for us to eventually move beyond low-Earth orbit, we need to better understand how humans adapt to long-term spaceflight," NASA's Michael Suffredini, International Space Station program manager, said in a statement. "The space station serves as a vital scientific resource for teaching us those lessons, and this year-long expedition aboard the complex will help us move closer to those journeys." The announcement confirms speculation that has been bubbling for several months. Earlier this week, a Russian space official claimed the marathon mission was a done deal, but until today NASA had simply said that such a flight was under consideration. [Most Extreme Human Spaceflight Records] Launching two astronauts means that one seat on the mission's three-person Soyuz spacecraft may be available for another crewmember. On Oct. 10, British singer Sarah Brightman will make a "groundbreaking announcement" about space travel, and some observers speculate that she — or somebody else — may be taking the Soyuz' third seat as a space tourist. During the 12 years that people have lived continuously aboard the space station, scientists have learned a lot about how microgravity affects the human body. They've documented significant effects, for example, on bone density, muscle mass, strength and vision. But that information has been based on orbital stays that lasted a maximum of six months. Studying astronauts on a year-long mission should yield even greater insights into crew health and performance, researchers said. "We have gained new knowledge about the effects of spaceflight on the human body from the scientific research conducted on the space station, and it is the perfect time to test a one-year expedition aboard the orbital laboratory," said Julie Robinson, NASA's program scientist for the International Space Station. "What we will gain from this expedition will influence the way we structure our human research plans in the future." NASA has a keen interest in learning how the human body holds up for long stretches in space, for the agency is currently working to send astronauts to a near-Earth asteroid by 2025 and Mars by the mid-2030s. A manned roundtrip journey to Mars could take around two years, according to some mission concepts. Neither NASA nor the Russian Federal Space Agency, which is known as Roscosmos, has revealed who the two astronauts will be. A few months ago, however, Russia's Interfax news agency reported that the NASA crewmember could be Peggy Whitson, who recently stepped down as the agency's chief astronaut to rejoin its active spaceflying ranks. While no astronaut has yet stayed aboard the International Space Station for 12 continuous months, such a long stay in orbit is not unprecedented. Cosmonaut Valery Polyakov lived aboard Russia's Mir space station from January 1994 until March 1995, spending 438 consecutive days off the planet.[/quote]

I think I'd just go mad after a week. I certainly wouldn't look forward to getting back to Earth at the end of it.

Oh my god, how can anyone do that

Oh man their health is going to be so out of balance when they return.

[QUOTE=Glorbo;37945301]Oh my god, how can anyone do that[/QUOTE] How can anyone not do that? I'd do it given the chance.

365 days, no fap 2015.

[QUOTE=Franke_R!?;37945303]How can anyone not do that? I'd do it given the chance.[/QUOTE] Dude, it's a year locked inside a large metal tube. It's not fun no matter how you put it.

[QUOTE=Glorbo;37945333]Dude, it's a year locked inside a large metal tube. It's not fun no matter how you put it.[/QUOTE] It's a year in space though, for people who are actually interested in space that's pretty amazing. They can still see family on stuff like skype (not the same as face to face, but it's something), they still have a decent diet, and they have a lot of work to do, so it's not like they're just sitting around up there getting bored.

[QUOTE=Franke_R!?;37945303]How can anyone not do that? I'd do it given the chance.[/QUOTE] Well, there are quite a few things that would fuck with you majorly. You're going to be pretty much confined in a tiny space for a year, your body will deteriorate unless you exercise really frequently due to your muscles having to do less work not to mention gravity is going to hit you like a bitch when you land. Then there are some body functions that work slightly different in space, you won't have access to a hospital so health complications could be fatal, you won't have access to friends and family it's basically work 24/7. Food will all be prepackaged, which isn't really too terrible but would probably get to you eventually. Oh yeah, and you might realise you can't stand the only other guy in there. :v:

[QUOTE=Amiga OS;37945335]Jizz into the airlock and open the outer door.[/QUOTE] This works in FTL

[QUOTE=fritzel;37945329]365 days, no fap 2015.[/QUOTE] Recycle

Why not use it as ammo for the jizz cannons in case any hostile aliens turn up

[QUOTE=Terminutter;37945358]Well, there are quite a few things that would fuck with you majorly. You're going to be pretty much confined in a tiny space for a year, your body will deteriorate unless you exercise really frequently due to your muscles having to do less work not to mention gravity is going to hit you like a bitch when you land. Then there are some body functions that work slightly different in space, you won't have access to a hospital so health complications could be fatal, you won't have access to friends and family it's basically work 24/7. Food will all be prepackaged, which isn't really too terrible but would probably get to you eventually. Oh yeah, and you might realise you can't stand the only other guy in there. :v:[/QUOTE] But on the other side, you are in [B]SPACE[/B] for a whole year.

[QUOTE=Terminutter;37945358]Well, there are quite a few things that would fuck with you majorly. You're going to be pretty much confined in a tiny space for a year, your body will deteriorate unless you exercise really frequently due to your muscles having to do less work not to mention gravity is going to hit you like a bitch when you land. Then there are some body functions that work slightly different in space, you won't have access to a hospital so health complications could be fatal, you won't have access to friends and family it's basically work 24/7. Food will all be prepackaged, which isn't really too terrible but would probably get to you eventually. Oh yeah, and you might realise you can't stand the only other guy in there. :v:[/QUOTE] Thank god they put a treadmill on the station [IMG]http://nofactzone.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/images/nasa_2053_44023608.jpg[/IMG]

I imagine they're going to do the same as most Submarine missions. I.E. Overwork themselves so there's no time to be bored. Though if they're staying up there for a whole year, it's going to be one tough job, good luck to them.

Relevant: [url]http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars500/index.html[/url]

[QUOTE=Glorbo;37945333]Dude, it's a year locked inside a large metal tube. It's not fun no matter how you put it.[/QUOTE] The place is as big, all be it, a bit cramped, as a house, and you're floating weightless, and actually working/doing shit you love the entire time, with the most amazing view available to the naked eye. They work out daily to keep their muscles in shape and we've had many guys spend many months aboard already I think they'll be okay

[QUOTE=Amiga OS;37945335]Jizz into the airlock and open the outer door.[/QUOTE] so that's how life spread

[QUOTE=Franke_R!?;37945303]How can anyone not do that? I'd do it given the chance.[/QUOTE] There are many serious health complications with it, for instance the quite large risk of becoming blind.

[QUOTE=mac338;37945607]There are many serious health complications with it, for instance the quite large risk of becoming blind.[/QUOTE] I'd still do it bc yolo.

[QUOTE=Marbalo;37945328]I'd imagine it would be extremely lonely for the two of them. Obviously not with other astronauts coming and going, but staying there for a whole year is pretty daunting, without seeing their families/children/friends/gravity/etc for that long.[/QUOTE] They do get the internet up there so I'm guessing it will be life as normal for most of us.

I'd do it.

[QUOTE=mac338;37945607]There are many serious health complications with it, for instance the quite large risk of becoming blind.[/QUOTE] I'm not space savvy, can you tell me how you go blind in space? This isn't a "you're wrong" accusation I'm just genuinely curious.

[QUOTE=TurbisV2;37945370]Recycle[/QUOTE] They need the protein.

[QUOTE=ZombieDawgs;37946123]I'm not space savvy, can you tell me how you go blind in space? This isn't a "you're wrong" accusation I'm just genuinely curious.[/QUOTE] There's an article on it here: [URL]http://articles.latimes.com/2011/sep/20/nation/la-na-blind-nasa-astronaut-20110921[/URL] Apparently many of the astronauts coming back from long time stay on the ISS reported blurred sight. They say it may be caused by the lack of gravity. [editline]7th October 2012[/editline] [QUOTE]Much of the research so far has centered on seven unnamed astronauts who have shown symptoms, including [B]one astronaut whose eyesight was so affected by his third month on the station that he could "only see the Earth clearly while looking through the lower portion of his progressive reading[/B] glasses," according to a draft of a paper to appear in the medical journal Ophthalmology. [/QUOTE] That's quite extreme.

Wasn't there some Asian simulation of a crew in a spaceship for a year+?

[QUOTE=Chernarus;37946188]Wasn't there some Asian simulation of a crew in a spaceship for a year+?[/QUOTE] Not Asian but, European. They spent 500 days in the simulation: [QUOTE=farmatyr;37945408]Relevant: [url]http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars500/index.html[/url][/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=ZombieDawgs;37946123]I'm not space savvy, can you tell me how you go blind in space? This isn't a "you're wrong" accusation I'm just genuinely curious.[/QUOTE] When there's no gravity pulling all your fluids down you end up with a lot extra in your head. That fluid pressure squishes the back of your eye and swells your optic nerves. That swelling could eventually puncture your eye or just cause blindness.

[QUOTE=ZombieDawgs;37946123]I'm not space savvy, can you tell me how you go blind in space? This isn't a "you're wrong" accusation I'm just genuinely curious.[/QUOTE] Because of weightlessness, the amount of fluid in the upper body increases, which raises the pressure in the cranium. The effect from that seems to be increased pressure on the back of the eyeballs, altering the shape of the eye and squishing the optic nerve. [editline]7th October 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=mac338;37946233]When there's no gravity pulling all your fluids down you end up with a lot extra in your head. That fluid squishes the back of your eye and swells your optic nerves. That swelling could eventually puncture your eye or just cause blindness.[/QUOTE] Goddamnit >:(

[QUOTE=Swebonny;37946169]That's quite extreme.[/QUOTE] It can happen very fast.