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Tuesday, March 1, 2016

International Space Station's 'One Year Crew' Returns To Earth Tuesday March 01,2016

 
US astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko returned to Earth  Tuesday March 01,2016 after spending almost a year in space in a ground-breaking experiment foreshadowing a potential manned mission to Mars.

The 340-day mission saw Scott Kelly break the record for the longest single stay in space by a US astronaut, while Kornienko is now fifth on the list for lengthiest mission by a Russian cosmonaut.

Scott Kelly broke the record (previously 215 days) for most time spent in space by a United States astronaut back in October, and has logged a total of 520 days in space over four missions.

Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko returned with Russia's Sergei Volkov, who was stationed at the ISS for over five months and was met upon landing by his father, retired cosmonaut Aleksandr Volkov.

ISS crew after touchdown in Kazakhstan. 2 March 2016

The "one-year crew" mission -- which began on March 27,2015  was the longest by any astronauts aboard the ISS and seen as a vital chance to measure the effects of a prolonged period in space on the human body.

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
The crew of ISS Expedition 43

They have been subjected to a battery of tests and other experiments in preparation for a future manned mission to Mars and beyond

The one-year mission focused on 7 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.

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