First twin space log

TWIN astronauts are ready to  shed blood in the name of space exploration. Next year, scientists from across the US will collect blood samples and run a battery of physical and mental tests on identical twins Mark and Scott Kelly. Mark, a retired astronaut, will remain on Earth while Scott spends a year on the International Space Station. With the twins’ help, NASA will explore the health effects of space flight without genetic variations getting in the way. On 7 March, NASA announced 10 experiments for the twins. For instance, Susan Bailey at Colorado State University in Fort Collins will look at the length of the twins’ telomeres. These caps of DNA on the end of chromosomes shorten as we age and have never been studied in space before. Mathias Basner at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia will assess cognitive abilities. The work should prove useful for NASA’s long-term plans for deep-space missions to an asteroid or Mars.