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A comment on NASA Twins Study: How stressful will a trip to Mars be on the human body?.

Re:NASA Twins Study: How stressful will a trip to Mars be on... by majkinetor on Tuesday January 31, 2017 @12:38PM (#13532959)
I wonder did NASA consider the study design in which both astronauts actually follow the same regime - the same food, the same exercise profile, sleep paterns, social exposure etc. That is, complete mirroring of the life style except for the location.

I imagine this must be very hard to accomplish but I wonder how meaningfull is the study otherwise.

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Re:NASA Twins Study: How stressful will a trip to Mars be on... by lisper on Tuesday January 31, 2017 @02:35PM (#13534395)
It depends on what you're trying to figure out. If you're trying to figure out just the effects of location (which pretty much means zero G and extra radiation) then you're right, you need to control all the other factors. (You could even isolate the zero G effects by subjecting the control subject to extra radiation, though that might not fly with the ethics boards.) But if you're trying to figure out the sum total effects of space flight, including all the ancillary effects (like decreased social interaction) then it makes sense to let the control subject just live a normal life.
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