You're reading: Russian, American to fly to ISS on one-year mission

MOSCOW - Roscosmos and NASA have decided that Russian Mikhail Korniyenko and American Scott Kelly will fly on the first one-year-long mission to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2015, the two space agencies said in a joint statement.

The two astronauts have been selected for the mission, during which they will collect scientific data for future research on the solar system, the statement says.

“The launch of the manned vehicle Soyuz-TMA carrying Korniyenko and Kelly is expected to take place at the Baikonur cosmodrome in spring 2015,” the Roscosmos press service reported.

Korniyenko and Kelly already have experience working together: the American was a member of the double crew of the ISS -23/24 million, in which the Russian took part as an on-board engineer.

“The purpose of the one year-long mission aboard the orbital laboratory is to study the reaction of the human body to the harsh conditions of space and abilities to adapt to them,” the report says.

“Data obtained during the 12 month mission will help evaluate the capability of the crewmembers and their health and will make it possible to determine and confirm measures to reduce the risks associated with future research plans for missions to near-moon orbits, asteroids, and, eventually, mars, with a high degree of certainty,” Roscosmos said.