NASA to send identical twin up to space for YEAR while scientists study his brother back home

Astronaut Scott Kelly, 50, will complete a 12-month International Space Station mission while his twin, Mark is monitored at home

NASA Scott and Mark Kelly
Twin in orbit: Scott Kelly (right) will launch into space for 12 months while Mark, a retired astronaut, is monitored at home

NASA is to launch a study of identical twins by sending one into space for a year and leaving the other on Earth.

The experiment, due to start in March next year, will for the first time study the impact of space travel on the human body in real time, measuring any changes that occur between the two brothers as they happen.

Living in space is known to have effects on the human body, including decreasing bone mass and causing muscle loss.

But, as of yet, scientists are unsure what it does to the body on a smaller scale.

They believe it could affect our DNA or alter how we age.

Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly, 50, will join cosmonaut Mikhair Kornienko on a one-year mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

Getty Back dropped by planet Earth the International Space Station (ISS) is seen from NASA space shuttle Endeavour
Year long mission: The astronaut will love aboard the International Space Station

His twin brother Mark, a retired NASA astronaut, will remain on the ground as a "control" in the experiment.

Scott will orbit the Earth at 17,000 miles per hour while his brother goes about his day-to-day life.

Craig Kundrot of Nasa's Human Research Program at the Johnson Space Centre said: "We will be taking samples and making measurements of the twins before, during and after the one-year mission."

Nasa recently revealed the study was one of ten research proposals to study the twins' genetics, vision, thought process and more.

"Each proposal is fascinating and could be a feature-length story of its own," says Mr Kundrot.

"We already known that the human immune system changes in space. It's not as strong as it is on the ground.


The 12-month study will also be the first time two humans have stayed aboard the ISS continuously for such a length of time.

Normally each mission lasts no more than six months.

Mark retired from Nasa in 2011 shortly after his wife Gabrielle Giffords, a Democrat politician who was serving in Congress at the time, was shot in the head near Tuscon, Arizona. She survived the assassination attempt.