A Long Stay in Space
March 30, 2015
Two astronauts arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) over the weekend who plan to be there for a long time. The United States astronaut Scott Kelly and the Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko are scheduled for a yearlong stay aboard the ISS.
United States astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko take a break from training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, to pose for a portrait. Credit: Bill Stafford, NASA
An astronaut is a person who pilots a spacecraft or works in space, particularly in the space program of the United States. In Russia and the other former republics of the Soviet Union, such men and women are called cosmonauts, and in China, taikonauts. These workers operate spacecraft and space stations, launch and recapture satellites, and conduct scientific experiments.
Although cosmonauts routinely stayed aboard the space station Mir for periods longer than one year during the 1980′s and 1990′s, Kelly and Kornienko’s tour will be the longest in the history of the ISS. Scientists are planning to study the long-term effects of weightlessness on the two men in order to develop ways to reduce or prevent harm. For example, some astronauts have vision problems after spending long periods in space. Muscles and bones grow weaker when people spend long periods in microgravity, the very low gravity experienced on the ISS and other spacecraft. NASA’s research may help to keep astronauts healthy on long future missions, such as a trip to Mars. It may also help people on Earth with similar problems.
Other World Book articles:
- 2001: A Space Reality (a Special report)
- Space exploration
