Over the next year, twin astronauts play a role in an
experiment that involves the International Space Station.
Orbiting at about 249 miles above
our terrestrial home is the International Space Station (ISS), the largest
peace-time international project in human history. It is also one of the sites
for a yearlong experiment which involves the twin astronauts Mark and Scott
Kelly.
Subject of Experiment: Flu shots
with a twist!
Kelly brothers are a part of an
exciting experiment that involves the study of the behaviour of immunity system
of humans in space and what effect does it have on a long term basis. Earlier
this year both the brothers received their flu vaccinations. But while Mark
stayed home, Scott took the ride up to ISS for a year long stint. Both the
brothers will continue to be studied by NASA researchers to track how extended
stays in space affect the human immune systems. Both the brothers received
their second flu shot this November, this time Mark on earth and Scott aboard
the ISS.
Most of us will think it’s very
difficult to get sick aboard the ISS. Contrary to this belief, bacteria and
viruses adore the environment of a space craft. It’s warm, it’s sealed, its
climate controlled, and the best part, it’s full of people who have nowhere to
go and no way of avoiding any stray germs they might have brought with them. That’s
especially true aboard the International Space Station (ISS), where crews
rotate in and out and can stay for many months at a time, and where residents’
immune systems—flummoxed by long-term exposure to zero-g—are unable to function
as they should.
The Kelly brothers’ immune system
had already been studied in the run-up to Scott’s launch last March, and both
were certified fit. But they should slowly be diverging, with Scott having more
problems. In space, some of the immune system’s billions of cell start to
display changes in terms of shape and function, especially the critically
important T-Cells, and none of it to the better. T-Cells can be most aptly
defined as the generals who coordinate the entire immune system’s responses.
The experiment that will help us
study all of this began a few months before Scott left Earth, when both the
brothers received a similar trivalent flu
vaccine – one that is capable to protect against three strains of the virus.
The NASA researchers will be looking not just at how Scott’s immune system is
changed by his time in space, but also how well it recovers once Scott is back
on Earth.
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