NASA turns to public to help humanoid robot ‘see’ better

Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly celebrated the end of his year in space in an unusual way. Now the Human Research Program is building on that foundation by proposing more global collaboration on future one-year space station missions.

Scott Kelly tries out the Chibis suit for size, monitored by Mikhail Kornienko (left) and fellow cosmonaut Gennady Padalka. And of course, everyone is floating in weightlessness, which only adds to the hilarity.

“Needed a little humor to lighten up a#YearInSpace”, Kelly wrote in a Facebook post February 23rd.

Tweeting that you should “Go big, or go home.’ Kelly made a decision to cut loose and dress up in a gorilla suit for reasons that immediately become obvious when you see a giant ‘gorilla” start flying around a space station in zero gravity. I think I’ll do both.

One of the unique aspects of Kelly’s participation in the one-year mission is that he has an identical twin brother, Mark, who is a former astronaut. The pair have taken part in a suite of studies that use Mark as a human control on the ground during Scott’s year-long stay in space. Thank you, whoever you are.

This particular mission looked at the long-term effects of spaceflight on the human body – particularly with fluid shifts and field tests.

To date, NASA has approximately 15 years of data from the space station about how space affects the human body on six-month missions.

One of the biggest hurdles of getting to Mars is ensuring humans are “go” for a long-duration mission and that crew members will maintain their health and full capabilities for the duration of a Mars mission and after their return to Earth. He will be the first American to accomplish such a mission.

In celebration of his year on board the International Space Station, he decides to prank his British colleague, Tim Peake, in the most elaborate fashion.

Because the journey to Mars takes three years, NASA and other space agencies are particularly concerned about the impact of space on the human body.