Why We Need NASA
Expedition 43 Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), top, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, center, and Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka of Roscosmos wave farewell as they board the Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft ahead of their launch to the International Space Station, Friday, March 27, 2015. Kelly and Kornienko will spend a year in space and return to Earth on Soyuz TMA-18M in March 2016.
This Year long mission will provide valuable information about the condition of each astronaut physiologically, mentally, physically, and emotionally. The information gathered during the 342 day will then be reciprocated when examining how a human will respond in the 3 year journey it takes to reach Mars.
The ACTE project is a joint effort between NASA and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, to advance compliant structure technology for use in aircraft to significantly reduce drag, structural weight, and aircraft noise. ACTE technology has the potential to be retrofitted to existing airplane wings or integrated into entirely new airframes.
Expedition 43 Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), top, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, center, and Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka of Roscosmos wave farewell as they board the Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft ahead of their launch to the International Space Station, Friday, March 27, 2015. Kelly and Kornienko will spend a year in space and return to Earth on Soyuz TMA-18M in March 2016.