In one of two briefings held by NASA Thursday, Jan. 15 at Johnson Space Center in Houston, to preview the upcoming yearlong stay aboard the International Space Station of Expedition 43, crewmembers discussed the mission. NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Gennady Padalka of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) will launch to the space station aboard the Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft March 27. Padalka will return to Earth in September while Kelly and Kornienko remain onboard until March 2016. Kelly and Kornienko are embarking on a first-ever yearlong mission to the station. The valuable scientific data collected will provide insight into how the human body responds to longer durations in space, supporting the next generation of space exploration.
