Scott Kelly: He Was Lucky

I thought this was a fun article on a year in space from Matt Novak at Paleofuture called Everything That Happened On Earth While These Guys Spent aYear in Space.  He highlights a few things that Scott Kelly missed out on, including Scott Walker, Donald Trump, Chipolte, the Apple Watch, and hover boards. I expect Mr. Kelly was well informed while on the International Space Station, yet also pretty busy and with little time to keep up on such important news.  That said, now that he is back, I would not be surprised if he chooses a quiet cabin in the woods to escape this silliness one more time.

Astronaut Kelly Announces His Retirement

"My career with the Navy and NASA gave me an incredible chance to showcase public service to which I am dedicated, and what we can accomplish on the big challenges of our day. I am humbled and excited by new opportunities for me to support and share the amazing work NASA is doing to help us travel farther into the solar system and work with the next generation of science and technology leaders."

-- Astronaut Scott Kelly announcing his plans to retire from NASA April 1st.   For more on his career visit here.

Astronaut Kelly Returns to Earth

Tomorrow astronaut Scott Kelly will land in Kazakstan, completing almost a year aboard the International Space Station. He has broken the U.S. record for time in space and is ready to be back home, but he should expect plenty of poking and prodding to learn more about the impact of space on his body and mind.

I expect the coverage of Super Tuesday will drown out much of the news of his return, yet I also expect NASA will leak out test results for months and play up the mission. Competing with Trump is hard, but we need stories about real heroes doing the real work to keep America strong and in the forefront of space travel. 

It is possible that after one look at the newspapers Mr. Kelly will ask for a seat on the next mission. Will NASA have room for millions more Americans? The idea of a Martian colony never sounded so nice.

Scott Kelly and Stephen Colbert

I am impressed that Stephen Colbert is bringing astronauts and scientists onto his Late Show program.  Most of the other talk shows seem interested in celebrities only and ignore all the other happenings in the world - and off world.  His long-distant interview with astronaut Scott Kelly, who was aboard the International Space Station, was entertaining yet also instructive.  In addition to discussion frequent flier miles, the talk covered potential bone loss due to the lack of gravity.  No, the science was not very deep, but at last NASA had a place on late night television.  Bravo to Colbert!

This is Your Body in Space

This drawing from NASA walks you through the effects of space on the human body, as well as the effects of the human body on space. It focuses on what is happening to astronaut Scott Kelly during his one year on the International Space Station. Between his drinking of recycled urine to his creation of unique shooting stars, it sounds like quite an adventure.

Twitter Images from Scott Kelly

The image above comes from astronaut Scott Kelly on the International Space Station.  It shows the Earth, Jupiter, Venus, and the Moon more or less aligned.  It is one of many on his twitter account that you might want to see for yourself.  With a full year on the station, I expect we will get a lot of great shots from Mr. Kelly.

Supplies Aboard the Space Station

After numerous attempts, the International Space Station finally has been resupplied by a Russian Soyuz capsule.  The Progress 60 mission (shown above) successfully docked with the station earlier today, bringing water, spare parts, propellant, oxygen, and more.  You can watch the docking process here. 

I imagine all of this is more excitement that Astronaut Scott Kelly was anticipating when he signed up to spend a year on the station.  If the purpose of the mission is to test his reaction to stress, NASA is doing a great job piling it on. 

Update: Speaking of Mr. Kelly, he shared his experiences recently with CBS Evening News.  He compared his time on the space station to time in prison:

...no matter what happens, you're not going home. We don't get to go outside, so that's a little bit different. I would imagine in a lot of jails people get fresh air. You don't get that here. And you don't get real sunlight. ... The big difference, though, is we're here by choice. So that makes, I guess, the situation a little bit better.

But he also discussed the importance of his research, giving an example concerning why NASA needs to study the impact of long-term space travel on the eyes:

 You wouldn't want some astronauts to get on Mars after a year and a half, or longer when they're coming home, and not be able to see...It's something we don't understand, but it's something we're working hard at understanding and mitigating the effects. We've done a lot of research up here since I've been here to better understand that.

Twin Test Will Assist with Travel to Mars

Tomorrow NASA astronaut Scott Kelly will depart from Kazakhstan on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft for a year-long journey on the International Space Station (ISS).  His twin brother Mark, also an astronaut, will stay on Earth for purposes of comparison.

In a Time magazine article, which profiled the brothers, the scientific mission was discussed as well (Mikhail Kornienko is a cosmonaut on the ISS):

On this flight, the time for distractions may be especially tight, thanks to the battery of 10 medical and psychological tests that will be on the agenda for both Scott and Kornienko in orbit and for Mark on the ground. Flight surgeons will run studies of cardiovascular efficiency, blood-oxygen levels and blood volume. Bone density will be monitored, as well as cellular aging and fluid shifts in the body. Sonograms will be taken of the eye and optic nerve to determine how those shifts affect vision.

Mood and mental shifts will also be measured throughout the mission. All of which should contribute to a better understanding of the effects of space travel. I doubt NASA has many twin astronauts waiting in the wings, so this is a unique opportunity to prepare for future manned space travel. We will all be watching.