The human body” remains robust and resilient” after almost a year in space, according to a long-term, multi-institutional study of twins, one of whom lived aboard the International Space Station for 340 days while the other remained on Earth. These heartening outcomes remove a potential roadblock to crewed interplanetary missions — and merely in time for us to start planning them.
The study, conducted by NASA and its partners on the American astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly, minutely monitored the twins vitals to find what if any changes passed to the twin in orbit( Scott) that didn’t to the twin below( Mark ). And changes there were, but nothing worrying enough that souls brave enough to go to space will second-guess their profession.
” We have only scratched the surface of knowledge about the body in space ,” explained Jennifer Fogarty, chief scientist of NASA’s Human Research Program.” The Twins Study gave us the first integrated molecular opinion into genetic changes, and demonstrated how a human body adapts and remains robust and resilient even after spending nearly a year aboard the International Space Station. The data captured from integrated investigations like the NASA Twins Study will be explored for years to come .”
Some expected instances included weight loss, lower blood pressure, and eyesight problems due to the lack of gravitation. But the duration and nature of the study also allowed for several interesting new phenomena in the immunological and molecular domains to be considered. There’s good news and bad news.
Telomeres are parts of our chromosomes that help with , among other things, maintaining our genes. They was soon affected by presence in space and genetic difference six hours that of the control was observed. They lengthened considerably, then upon return to Earth were much shorter than normal. What causes this and what effects it could have are unknown.
That genetic difference also returned to normal when returning to the surface — for the most part. But about 7 percent, many relating to immune response and DNA repair, didn’t. Is there a reason for those working genes being affected? It’s impossible to say with a sample size of one. It’s also important to note that these genes weren’t inevitably “damaged” or anything, but that their expres levels had changed. The Dna itself remained intact.
Fortunately, the immune system itself functioned perfectly during and after Scott’s time in space. That’s hugely important, as a weakened immune system could be hugely troublesome on a long, isolated trip to another planet where no additional medical assistance can be provided.
The genetic damage may be slightly worrying, but candidly if that’s the biggest issue emerging out of someone spending a year in a can floating through space, it’s seriously good news. The brain( the most critical part of an cosmonaut) ran great — the circulatory system adapted well — muscles and bones stayed in great shape. Potential telomeric damage and genetic fluctuation aren’t fun, but they aren’t showstoppers either and may very well be preventable.
Considering expeditions to the schemed lunar base would almost certainly be longer in duration than those to the ISS, this is great news for the blooming extra-orbital space community. And missions to Mars, as difficult as they may be otherwise, will not have to contend with immune systems shutting down or brain damage from blood pressure changes. That kind of confidence goes a long way.
This study is only the first of many, to be sure, and in fact the teams alert that, because they only had the one person in space as an experimental group,” it is impossible to attribute causality to spaceflight versus a coincidental event. Hence, our study should be considered as hypothesis-generating and framework-defining and must be complemented in the future by studies of additional astronauts .”
Expect more studies both of this data and whatever get gathered from future missions to test and confirm the results published today. You can read the full newspaper in the periodical Science, and hear much more about the setup and the twins themselves at NASA’s Twins Study page.