Talked to the International Space Station



    Now in low Earth orbit, an annual expedition is operating aboard the ISS, consisting of astronaut Mikhail Kornienko and astronaut Scott Kelly. As a representative of the Open Space Vkontakte community, I had the opportunity to conduct a communication session and ask a few questions.


    Translated by Scott Kelly by Alpha Centauri .

    Mikhail Kornienko and Scott Kelly went into orbit on March 27, 2015, and they should return almost a year later - in March 2016. During the flight, they have to assess the degree of impact on the body of the conditions of prolonged work in space. Previously, all expeditions to the ISS lasted six months, with rare exceptions, as the recent delay in returning the previous expedition. The annual expedition should, among other things, prepare Earth science for long flights to the Moon, asteroids and Mars.



    The astronaut Valery Polyakov owned the orbit record - he spent 437 days at the Mir station. But at that time there were not many means of monitoring the state of the body that are available now, so the current long expedition is not a simple repetition of the past. In addition, Scott Kelly has a twin brother on Earth - Mark. Mark now lives on the schedule of the ISS and repeats all the experiments that Scott carries out. Thanks to this, it will be possible to determine with the highest accuracy which changes in the state of the organism are caused precisely by the conditions of the cosmos.



    Based on the program of the annual expedition, the questions that were asked by the participants of the Open Space community were selected. The conversation became possible thanks to the press services of Roscosmos and the Mission Control Center TsNIIMash.

    The sensations before the conversation, during, and after were strange. I did not fully believe that this was possible: the Vkontakte community reached space. But here I am sitting in front of the huge screen of the MCC, which I had only seen in news or movies before. There is a telephone on the table, and someone from the side says:
    “You can pick up the phone.” They are already waiting ...



    Questions:
    1. What and at what age influenced you when you decided to become an astronaut / astronaut?
    2. What is most missing for astronauts on the ISS as people, and what is missing most for professional tasks?
    3. Is it possible, after the successful completion of the annual flight, to claim that "humanity is ready to fly to Mars"? If not, what else is needed?
    4. What are the problems of deep space exploration, what stops us from flying to other planets, and how soon can we solve these problems?
    5. Russian engineer Alexander Khokhlov proposes in 2021 to carry out a 580-day manned flight with a flight near Venus and Mars. Do you think there is a need for the modern world cosmonautics in such an expedition, and if so, would you like to take part in such a flight?
    6. What is the significance of the work on the International Space Station for life on Earth?
    7. What recent space films did you like?
    8. Are there any differences in the sports program of astronauts and astronauts?
    9. Why do you have two hours in your arms?
    10. How much do you think the ISS can serve.
    11. Is it possible to use the ISS as a transshipment base for the implementation of long-distance manned missions to the moon, asteroids, Mars?

    Theses of answers, if there is no opportunity to watch the video
    1. Mikhail had a father in the astronaut search group, and his son from early childhood grew up knowing that he would be preparing for a space flight. Scott Kelly improved as a pilot, was a test pilot and the path into space was a logical continuation for him.
    2. From a professional point of view, everything is enough. Humanly, there is a lack of nature and communication with relatives.
    3-4. Biological research is only part of the required work, more new materials and engines will be needed. But humanity is already ready to fly to Mars, only money for implementation is needed.
    5. Before flying, it is necessary to carefully determine the goals. And provide a guarantee of return. On these conditions, Michael is ready to fly.
    6. The ISS conducts many biological, chemical, and physical experiments. All of them are somehow intended for the Earth.
    7. Interstellar is good. But Gravity struck with amazing detail. Scott felt like a movie showed his house.
    8. Sports programs for almost everyone are the same, only simulators are in different segments.
    9. One watch is a watch, and the second bracelet is biometric sensors for a scientific experiment.
    10. According to Scott Kelly, the station is ready to serve at least another 10 years.
    11. The possibilities of using the ISS as a port for the implementation of long-distance flights are considered, the main thing is that such flights begin before the end of its operation.


    Perhaps we will somehow repeat the communication session, and together we will prepare a detailed list of questions.

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