Nasa’s Twin Study New Insights

Even though it happens at a molecular level, weird things happen to the human body when it faces long spaceflights. However, no reasons why a human could not resist a journey to Mars, which lasts two and a half years, would not survive.

While revealing some more results from the Twins Study of NASA, one of the agency’s officials and two scientists sent away that message. The professionals working on this study examined what physiological changes the astronaut Scott Kelly experienced during a sojourn in space that lasted almost a year, while Mark Kelly, his twin brother, stayed on Earth.

What was found?

Even though we can’t see the full report yet because it has not been published, some information has been given away by some reporters that attended the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, in Washington.

One thing that is most worth reading about this experiment is one finding. According to Scott Kelly’s bloodwork, his immune system quickly ramped up not long after he went into space, similar to how the body feels when it goes under attack, at the cellular level.

What could happen to astronauts after a mission in space?

It is now the first time we hear about the physiological effects the microgravity has on astronauts, such as bone loss, impaired vision, disruption to the wake-sleep cycle, and muscle loss. The research does not only show changed at the cellular level, but it also shows changes in the gene expression.

Craig Kundrot, the director of NASA’s space life and physical sciences division, echoed that. However, he highlighted the fact that nothing this research has found could make a Mars mission impossible. Radiation is the biggest concerns as such a mission would get astronauts exposed to levels of radiation more severe than permitted at the guidelines we know currently.