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| Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly on his year in space: 'Maybe you do go bananas' | Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly on his year in space: 'Maybe you do go bananas' |
| (about 17 hours later) | |
| Himalayan lakes, spacewalks and the presidential primaries helped Scott Kelly keep his wits over 340 days in space, the astronaut told reporters on Friday, days after he landed back on Earth from a record-setting mission. | Himalayan lakes, spacewalks and the presidential primaries helped Scott Kelly keep his wits over 340 days in space, the astronaut told reporters on Friday, days after he landed back on Earth from a record-setting mission. |
| “It seemed like I lived there forever,” Kelly said. The veteran of past missions said that his biggest surprise was simply how long this one felt. “Maybe occasionally you do go bananas,” he said. | “It seemed like I lived there forever,” Kelly said. The veteran of past missions said that his biggest surprise was simply how long this one felt. “Maybe occasionally you do go bananas,” he said. |
| Kelly and a Russian counterpart, Mikhail Kornienko, spent nearly a year on the International Space Station, in order to study the effects of weightlessness, radiation and the cramped quarters of spaceflight on humans – research Nasa considers essential for an eventual mission to Mars. | Kelly and a Russian counterpart, Mikhail Kornienko, spent nearly a year on the International Space Station, in order to study the effects of weightlessness, radiation and the cramped quarters of spaceflight on humans – research Nasa considers essential for an eventual mission to Mars. |
| Kelly said the length of the mission was its biggest challenge, and that he felt significantly more sore on returning to gravity than after shorter trips. | Kelly said the length of the mission was its biggest challenge, and that he felt significantly more sore on returning to gravity than after shorter trips. |
| Related: Marathon space flight just the start for Scott Kelly, walking science experiment | |
| Kelly and his twin brother, Mark, a retired astronaut, have spent the last year taking physical and mental tests. The tests will continue, to help Nasa learn about how the body copes with the severe strains of spaceflight. | Kelly and his twin brother, Mark, a retired astronaut, have spent the last year taking physical and mental tests. The tests will continue, to help Nasa learn about how the body copes with the severe strains of spaceflight. |
| Kelly said he felt aches and had extremely sensitive skin, but so far his balance has felt mostly decent. However, he said, “the first thing I tried to throw on a table I missed”, because “you tend to underestimate the effects of gravity”. | Kelly said he felt aches and had extremely sensitive skin, but so far his balance has felt mostly decent. However, he said, “the first thing I tried to throw on a table I missed”, because “you tend to underestimate the effects of gravity”. |
| He said the discomfort of returning to gravity – which shrank him back down to normal height after he stretched by 1.5in in orbit – took nothing from the awe he felt after his capsule landed back on Earth. | He said the discomfort of returning to gravity – which shrank him back down to normal height after he stretched by 1.5in in orbit – took nothing from the awe he felt after his capsule landed back on Earth. |
| When the Russian capsule opened on to the cool air of Kazakhstan, Kelly said, he smelled “a fragrance like a plant was blooming in that area”. It was the fresh air mingled with the charred, “kind of sweet” smell of a spacecraft that had survived re-entry through the atmosphere. | When the Russian capsule opened on to the cool air of Kazakhstan, Kelly said, he smelled “a fragrance like a plant was blooming in that area”. It was the fresh air mingled with the charred, “kind of sweet” smell of a spacecraft that had survived re-entry through the atmosphere. |
| Backing away from the vessel, he said, the scope of the mission began to sink in: 340 days on a 15-year-old space station which is “a million pounds, the size of a football field, the internal volume, some say, of a six-bedroom house”. | Backing away from the vessel, he said, the scope of the mission began to sink in: 340 days on a 15-year-old space station which is “a million pounds, the size of a football field, the internal volume, some say, of a six-bedroom house”. |
| The ISS, he said, is a place that uses the power of the sun to turn “urine into water, our water into oxygen” and was built with the help of an international team and millions of taxpayers. | The ISS, he said, is a place that uses the power of the sun to turn “urine into water, our water into oxygen” and was built with the help of an international team and millions of taxpayers. |
| “There are things we’re going to discover about our experience in space in the space station that we don’t even know now,” Kelly said, comparing the research of more than 450 missions there to the work done by computer scientists at Nasa in the 1960s and 1970s. | “There are things we’re going to discover about our experience in space in the space station that we don’t even know now,” Kelly said, comparing the research of more than 450 missions there to the work done by computer scientists at Nasa in the 1960s and 1970s. |
| He added: “The view is great, too.” | He added: “The view is great, too.” |
| Kelly made the most of that view, posting spectacular photos on social media of the Earth’s cities, landscapes, oceans and atmosphere. | Kelly made the most of that view, posting spectacular photos on social media of the Earth’s cities, landscapes, oceans and atmosphere. |
| “The earth is a beautiful planet,” he said, describing the striking colors of the waters around the Bahamas and the rainbow hues of lakes that dot the northern Himalayas. He said he would like to visit that region, though he would first need to learn “what country actually owns them”. | “The earth is a beautiful planet,” he said, describing the striking colors of the waters around the Bahamas and the rainbow hues of lakes that dot the northern Himalayas. He said he would like to visit that region, though he would first need to learn “what country actually owns them”. |
| But “predominantly you just notice how thin the atmosphere is, how fragile it looks,” Kelly added. “That combined with these large swaths of pollution is kind of alarming.” | But “predominantly you just notice how thin the atmosphere is, how fragile it looks,” Kelly added. “That combined with these large swaths of pollution is kind of alarming.” |
| The astronaut said he could see entire systems of pollution: smoke clouds from wildfires that covered parts of the US, sections of Asia with continuous, visible pollution nearly all year round. He said the message “we need to save the planet” slightly missed the point: “The planet will get better, it’s us that won’t be here because we’ll destroy the environment.” | The astronaut said he could see entire systems of pollution: smoke clouds from wildfires that covered parts of the US, sections of Asia with continuous, visible pollution nearly all year round. He said the message “we need to save the planet” slightly missed the point: “The planet will get better, it’s us that won’t be here because we’ll destroy the environment.” |
| The world’s thin shield of atmosphere “makes you more of an environmentalist after spending so much time looking down”, he said. | The world’s thin shield of atmosphere “makes you more of an environmentalist after spending so much time looking down”, he said. |
| “It’s for us to take care of the air we breathe and the water we drink. And I do believe we have an impact on that and we do have the ability to change it, if we make the decision to.” | “It’s for us to take care of the air we breathe and the water we drink. And I do believe we have an impact on that and we do have the ability to change it, if we make the decision to.” |
| Kelly’s active social media life, which he said was a joint effort with his girlfriend, earned him a huge following online. But he said he was unaware of it – instead watching the chaotic drama of the 2016 presidential election. One of the first questions he asked the crew who lifted him out of a space capsule was how did Super Tuesday go. | Kelly’s active social media life, which he said was a joint effort with his girlfriend, earned him a huge following online. But he said he was unaware of it – instead watching the chaotic drama of the 2016 presidential election. One of the first questions he asked the crew who lifted him out of a space capsule was how did Super Tuesday go. |
| But the astronaut demurred when asked for his thoughts about the likes of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. | But the astronaut demurred when asked for his thoughts about the likes of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. |
| “I would say that as a government employee I am subject to the Hatch Act,” he said, referring to a law that prohibits some political activity for federal employees. “So I can’t say how I think of all the news stories of all the year.” | “I would say that as a government employee I am subject to the Hatch Act,” he said, referring to a law that prohibits some political activity for federal employees. “So I can’t say how I think of all the news stories of all the year.” |
| Besides the news, he said, steady work helped him sane: “I tried to have milestones that were close, like when is the next crew arriving, the next [spacewalk], the next robotics, the next science [experiment]. That made a difference to me, keeping my sanity.” | Besides the news, he said, steady work helped him sane: “I tried to have milestones that were close, like when is the next crew arriving, the next [spacewalk], the next robotics, the next science [experiment]. That made a difference to me, keeping my sanity.” |
| Being back on Earth with the rest of humanity had not quite sunk in, he added, recalling how shocked he had been to see a crowd of people after a previous mission. | Being back on Earth with the rest of humanity had not quite sunk in, he added, recalling how shocked he had been to see a crowd of people after a previous mission. |
| Related: Scott Kelly snaps photos of Earth and the galaxy from space – in pictures | |
| “There’ll be a point here pretty soon where I’ll start feeling that kind of culture shock,” he said. | “There’ll be a point here pretty soon where I’ll start feeling that kind of culture shock,” he said. |
| Although earlier on Friday, a Nasa scientist said Kelly embodied the qualities needed for a mission to Mars, the astronaut himself predicted that he would not fly again with the space agency. | Although earlier on Friday, a Nasa scientist said Kelly embodied the qualities needed for a mission to Mars, the astronaut himself predicted that he would not fly again with the space agency. |
| “But I don’t think I would ever say I’m absolutely, 100% done,” he added, noting the sudden successes of private spaceflight companies such as SpaceX. | “But I don’t think I would ever say I’m absolutely, 100% done,” he added, noting the sudden successes of private spaceflight companies such as SpaceX. |
| “They might need a guy like me someday,” he said. “Maybe in the next 20 years you’ll be able to buy a cheap ticket, just go for a little visit.” | “They might need a guy like me someday,” he said. “Maybe in the next 20 years you’ll be able to buy a cheap ticket, just go for a little visit.” |