Scott Kelly, one of the Astronaut Kelly Twins, has returned to earth after almost a year in space.
(Scott's on the left) NASA photo
His brother, Mark, stayed at home, caring for his wife Gabby, the former house of representative who was shot by some lunatic with a gun.
In my opinion, you should have to pass a mental exam before you can buy a gun!
But no, lunatics just buy them at a gun show along with the drug cartels.
Back to Scott. Both twins are/were astronauts. Both have gone into space. But Scott stayed in space for nearly a year. The only other men who have stayed longer are Russians. (They are probably afraid to go back to Russia due to crazy Putin.)
(Yes, I'm sparking lots of fires today.)
It's an interesting study, to see the differences between the two brothers. While both have gone to space, Scott's stay was much longer. However, Mark's life has been stressed with an inconceivable tragedy and stress can make a huge impact.
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| Mark & Scott |
Honestly, to me, just before leaving on his mission Scott looks the healthiest in the pics I've seen. Mark is thinner, but thinner is not always better, but I've heard he's a nutritional conscious fellow and he did NOT eat the same food during the year in space as his brother did.
The next group of astronauts will be sent on longer duration missions with the focus on Mars.
But didn't we just send an actor to Mars? He had to work really hard to survive. And even so, he was at great risk of being left to die there. But the remainder of his crew would not have it. So they went back and got him.
Also, while the Kelly brothers are considered to be identical twins, over time, clear differences have appeared. The side views of their ears are different. The noses also seem slightly different. The shape of their heads appear to be different as well.
Here's an interesting bit: It turns out over 50% of the male astronauts suffer degradation of the optic nerve when in space while female astronauts don't.
So logic would dictate we send only women to Mars.
It will also be interesting to see what genetic changes have occurred to Scott since he was in space 340 days vs. Mark's 54 days (4 space missions). They were mostly the same before he left.
Here's an interview by Mark Kelly near the end of Scott's one year mission.
Here's another interesting tid bit I found. You'll live longer as an astronaut than a typical Texan. I'm blaming the guns and poor eating habits on that one.
I just keep poking bears and wild hogs today.
Hopefully, I'll have some info on the differences between the Kelly brothers before this is published.
One change: Scott is now two inches taller.
Returning to gravity turns out to be a royal pain in the legs. He admits his leg joints are achy as fluid drains out of his head and settles back into his legs.
He also says space makes you more compassionate.
He then suggests we take care of our planet, which of course we are not doing, so global warming will increase, eventually triggering global freezing as the planet shuts down and we will all die.
I wonder if all those big-headed, skinny-legged pale white aliens so many humans insist they've seen are actually humans who decided not to return to earth due to its painful gravity but instead went to live on another planet...maybe the cloaked one we can't see but jiggles the other planet's rotation about the sun.
In other news, there is discussion about where the first mars mission should land. Here's my selection:
The former SeaWorld with the floating spoon on Mars.
Bulletproofing complete, then?
ReplyDeleteBest wishes.
Do we understand *why* males' optic nerves are more susceptible than females? I think I'd want to have at least a little knowledge... And I think maybe the population samples aren't yet large enough (and are kinda skewed) to make a blanket statement. Of course, I always look for balance: if female optic nerves do fare better, what doesn't?
Thanks for sharing, especially your fears for our home planet!
It is a very small subject study, however, these men showed no sign of eye problems before they went to space.And fewer women have gone into space in total, so we might never have the valid stats on this or anything about humans in space. Still when 50% of the men have problems, even after short pops into space, there's probably something going on.
DeleteSometimes fires need to be sparked. ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm interested in the differences space caused between the twins. I knew Scott would be taller and have leg pain from the research I've done on how space effects a person, but it will be interesting to learn about the long-term differences over the next few years.
The one thing that will mar the comparison is that Mark has been into space 4 times, so it won't be as clear as if he'd never been in space. The difference here is the length of time in space.
ReplyDeleteThere is also the difference of Mark's lift off and return.. since he went up 4 times, I'm assuming that the pressure during takeoff and landing might cause some changes, vs. one time up but being in space longer.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that more men go up into space because they want to escape women? I also hope that the men who have optic nerve problems will see the women as more beautiful! :) I like to poke bears too!
Well, their vision is blurry, and blurriness can be a lady's friend.
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