Remember NASA ’s " Twins Study " ? That was the one where an astronaut in space and his selfsame twin comrade on Earth weremonitored , to see how being in blank affects the human body .
While the outcome from that are still ongoing , we ’re about to see the sequel of sort . As 20 identical twin mice have just been commit to the International Space Station ( ISS ) , while their siblings stay on on Earth .
The black eye were launched into infinite in a SpaceX Dragon capsule , which elevate off on Friday , June 29 in a rather sensational launch . The capsule arrived to begin with today , with the mouse among the variousother experimentsand consignment that are also on board .
The experimentation is being led by Fred Turek and Martha Vitaterna from Northwestern University in Illinois , the primary end of which is to see how being in blank space affects the body ’s microbiome – or gut bacterium . And that could have of import implications for future long - duration missions .
“ Because a tripper to Mars and back is expected to take several long time , we ask to determine how the gut ’s microbiota might be altered in zero gravity over long timescales , ” said Turek in astatement .
The original Twins Study require astronaut Scott Kelly in orbit on the ISS from March 2016 to March 2017 , with his twin brother Mark on Earth . One literary criticism , however , was that Mark was not required to mime on the button the conditions or diet of Scott in space .
This mice study will essay to advance on that somewhat . The mice on Earth will live inside a NASA simulator that replicates the consideration on the ISS , except that they ’ll be capable to Earth ’s gravity . This means the accurate effect of weightlessness on biology can be studied more closely .
“ With the twins we only had two subjects and we could not prescribe that they eat the same , or be similar lifestyles while Scott was in space , ” said Vitaterna . “ With this new task , we will be able to control for dieting and also further examine the liver , spleen , and fill out to see the ways in which individual components strike one another . ”
The team also desire to take how being in blank space affectscircadian rhythms . These internal clocks lean to govern most of our function , so work out if infinite locomotion changes them is pretty life-sustaining to long - full term delegation .
It ’s also deserving mention that the shiner actually comprise two different strains , something that ’s never been done before on the ISS . Half of the mice on the ISS will also spend 30 Day in orbit before returning to Earth , while the others will spend 90 days up there .
skilful luck , micetronauts . We ’re all counting on you .
