Heading into the unknown…

Almost everything we know about living in space ends at six months. Now that I am at the midpoint of my mission, heading into the second half of one year in space aboard the International Space Station, I am looking forward to exploring the science of this uncharted territory and stepping into the unknown.

My Russian colleague Mikhail Kornienko and I are living in space for one year to push the edge of our scientific understanding. To add in another dynamic, researchers are conducting “twin studies” to compare the subtle effects and changes in spaceflight as compared to Earth by studying my twin brother and I, two individuals who have almost identical genetics, but are in different environments for one year. We hope that the knowledge gained on this mission will benefit the Earth and that the data collected will help send humans to new destinations, supporting the next generation of space exploration.

Whether it is living in low Earth orbit for one year or a two year mission to the Red Planet, I have learned that human potential is limitless and we should never stop pushing the boundaries of exploration.

Thank you for supporting me and joining me on this mission. I am posting on social media with the hope that I can bring all of you on Earth along for the ride. I want to inspire you to reach further for your dreams and know that anything is possible.

The people who make International Space Station operations possible, the flight controllers watching over our ship 24-7-365, and the researchers analyzing the data we get back have invested their careers and lives to this mission to serve the United States and inspire the next generation.

I have traveled 72 million miles around Earth in the past 171 days -- flying at 17,500mph -- and have had the opportunity to experience our home planet from an incredible perspective. When I come home in March, I will have orbited the Earth 5,472 times traveling 141.7 million statute miles and spent more time in space than any U.S. astronaut in history. Please join me for the next six months of my mission -- as I reach these milestones and continue NASA’s work off the Earth, for the Earth.

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly takes a selfie with the Bahamas from 250 miles above Earth aboard the International Space Station.

Please continue to follow the mission at www.nasa.gov/station and on social media at @StationCDRKelly on Twitter and Instagram, NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly on Facebook and using #YearInSpace.

Sincerely,
Scott

Scott Kelly
NASA Astronaut

Commander Scott Kelly, International Space Station

• Barack Obama Mission NASA President Science Space exploration. International Space Station Spcae
• At 9/22/2015 12:46:00 a.m.
• Leave a Comment

Read More

The epic, first exploration of Pluto and its moons by NASA's New Horizons mission was completed last week, on Tuesday, July 14. And it captured the attention and imaginations of people across America and the entire world.

New Horizons is truly an American-made product, and one we can all be proud of. More than 2,500 Americans worked to design, build, launch, and fly New Horizons.

This NASA-industry-academia team included major partners at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, the Southwest Research Institute, Ball Aerospace, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, United Launch Alliance, KinetX Corporation, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Stanford University, the University of Colorado, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, as well as dozens of other universities and small companies who contributed.

The people who created New Horizons to complete the first reconnaissance of the planets delivered on the promise we made in 2001 to explore the Pluto system. We invested 15 years of our careers and lives to do this, to create knowledge, to show the United States on its game, to inspire kids and adults alike -- across the world -- and to make you proud.

In addition to gathering incredible science, one of my hopes for the flyby was that we'd excite people about the power of exploration, the sheer audacity of our species, and the great things we can achieve. And it's working -- from an unprecedented response on social media to global news coverage, the exciting and historic nature of New Horizons has really caught on!

It took us more than nine years to cross the 3 billion miles of space to get to Pluto -- and you have followed our journey, supported us, and believed in our mission. We can't thank you enough for that, or for your support of NASA that made New Horizons possible.

Please continue to follow the mission at www.nasa.gov/newhorizons andhttp://pluto.jhuapl.edu.

Alan Stern, NASA New Horizons Mission

• Exploration Mission Moons NASA Pluto
• At 7/28/2015 11:44:00 p.m.
• Leave a Comment

Read More