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Cassidy, who completed a total of three spacewalks, or EVAs, during his most recent flight, also had a few
ideas regarding how the crew doesn’t become fatigued with the heavy workload that comes with living
aboard the orbiting outpost, suggesting a longer weekend from time to time in the second half of the mission:
“I think my recommendation would be in months 7 through 12, the second
half of the year is to have a three day weekend every month because
you really need a good recharge. Sunday is a really good day to have a
recharge, and to have an extra Sunday thrown in the mix every now and
then would go a long way”.
All in all, it appears that everyone in science and space exploration fields are confident about the one year
mission. Both Kelly and Kornienko have lived aboard the ISS before, so it’s fair to say that we have a very
experienced crew on our hands, logging a total of 356 days in space between them.
It is hoped that data recorded from this 2015 mission will assist teams on the ground in their understanding of the effects of long terms weightlessness on the body, and what it may be like for humans if they were
sent on a mission to Mars in the future. After Kelly and Kornienko return to Earth in 2016, we will no doubt,
be one small step closer to the human exploration of the Red Planet.
GODSPEED........
Words: Cian O’Regan
Images: Wikipedia & NASA
ICY SCIENCE | QTR 1 2014