Few people actually believe that Senator John Glenn's recent space shuttle jaunt was conducted primarily in the interests of science. But since he and the US space agency NASA repeatedly and adamantly defended his flight on those grounds, it deserves comment from the research community. For while NASA and the Senator apparently believe that any attention to science is positive, their over-hyped claims mean that public understanding of what makes a well designed experiment may well have taken a step backward.

The flight undoubtedly succeeded in calling attention to parallels between the physiological effects of ageing and the ‘deconditioning’ that occurs in weightless astronauts. That line of inquiry may even be promising if humans continue to travel into space. But calling the experiments in which Glenn participated ‘cutting edge’ research on ageing misrepresents how scientific studies are conducted.

None of the shuttle experiments required a geriatric test subject. Before Glenn lobbied his way onto the flight, NASA had no plans to send an older astronaut into space. In fact, the agency had pushed at least one shuttle veteran in his sixties — and with far more spaceflight experience than Glenn — out of the door. Furthermore, flying one old person in space doesn't yield statistically valid conclusions about old people in general. And NASA has no plans for follow-up studies with other test subjects of a similar age.

Glenn is surely aware of the limited scientific value of his flight. But he desperately wanted to return to orbit, and seized on science as a convenient way to make his joyride sound more high-minded than it really was. Ironically, he didn't need the fig-leaf. The American public seemed more than willing to give an ageing hero his ‘victory lap’ without any trumped-up justification. Why harp on the research, then? The astronaut-turned-Senator-turned-astronaut has said his next goal will be to help combat what he views as apathy and cynicism among young people. Perhaps a good starting point would be for public figures to be more honest about their motivations.