ISS Photography By Scott Kelly

In November 2012, NASA, the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), and their international partners selected two veteran spacefarers for a one-year mission aboard the International Space Station in 2015. The mission includes collecting scientific data important to future human exploration of the Solar System. Kelly and Korniyenko already had a connection; Kelly was a backup crew member for the station's Expedition 23/24 crews, where Korniyenko served as a flight engineer.
The goal aboard the orbiting laboratory is to understand better how the human body reacts and adapts to the harsh environment of space. Data from the 12 months will help inform current assessments of crew performance and health and will determine better and validate countermeasures to reduce the risks associated with future exploration as NASA plans for missions around the Moon, asteroids and ultimately Mars.