America’s longest-flying astronaut has come back to earth.
On March 1, astronaut Scott Kelly, who spent the past 340 days on the International Space Station (ISS), touched down at 11:26 p.m. ET in Kazakhstan. Two Russian cosmonauts, Mikhail Kornienko and Sergey Volkov, were with him.
Kelly and Kornienko launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on March 27, 2015, as part of NASA’s Expedition 46. His mission was to conduct and participate in studies that will help NASA plan trips to Mars as part of its “Journey to Mars” mission. This included researching how the human body adjusts to weightlessness, isolation, radiation and the stress of a long space flight.
Kelly has an identical twin brother, former NASA astronaut Mark Kelly, who participated in parallel studies on earth. Mark Kelly’s participation allowed scientists to compare the effects of space on the body and mind to the cellular level.
“Scott Kelly’s one-year mission aboard the International Space Station has helped to advance deep space exploration and America’s Journey to Mars,” NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a statement. “Scott has become the first American astronaut to spend a year in space, and in so doing, helped us take one giant leap toward putting boots on Mars.”
While Kelly has been conducting important research for NASA, the American public probably knows him best for the pictures he has taken. During his time on the ISS, Kelly tweeted 1,000 photos, garnering him close to a million followers.
“I have taken a lot of pictures because I’ve been up here for a long time,” he said during a Feb. 25 press conference from the ISS. “I’ve definitely taken some good ones and some memorable ones.”
During his mission, Kelly went for three spacewalks. The first was to conduct station upgrade and maintenance tasks. The second involved successfully reconfiguring an ammonia cooling system and restoring the station’s solar power-generating capability. Kelly restored the functionality to the station’s Mobile Transporter system for the third spacewalk.
Kelly has now completed six missions, spending 520 days in space. That is the most of any United States astronaut.
After touching down, scientists at the site tested Kelly, Kornienko and Volkov’s vision, balance, strength and dexterity. The tests will allow scientists to estimate how quickly a crew traveling to Mars may be able to begin work after landing there.
Kelly’s next journey will be back to Houston, Texas. Once back, he plans to take advantage of the shower, as there are none on the ISS.
“It’s kind of like I’ve been in the woods camping for a year,” Kelly said at a news conference.
