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SCIENCEFriday 26 February 2016
U.S. space-endurance champ says he could do another year
MARCIA DUNN In this image from video made available by NASA, astronaut Scott Kelly speaks to reporters on ences between astronauts
AP Aerospace Writer Earth during a news conference held on the International Space Station on Thursday, Feb. 25, and their families.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. 2016. “For him, living in space
(AP) — America’s space- and being so far detached
endurance champ, Scott Associated Press from life on Earth, one of
Kelly, returns to Earth next the only real lifelines you
week after nearly a year in sule to a landing in Kazakh- shuttle commander, will un- naut Mark Kelly. have, one of the best ones,
orbit aboard the Interna- stan, his mission will have dergo a battery of medical The brothers have submit- is certainly the ability to
tional Space Station. High lasted 340 days. and physical tests at the ted to similar medical tests make a phone call,” Mark
on his to-do list when he The world record for a sin- landing site. He will then be for more than a year and Kelly said from his home in
gets back: jumping into his gle spaceflight is 438 days, hustled home to Houston will keep it up in the months Tucson, Arizona. He said he
pool and dining at a real set by a Russian cosmonaut for more tests and weeks ahead. NASA hopes the re- and his brother hope to go
table. in the 1990s. Even that will if not months of rehabilita- search on the genetically fishing in Alaska.
Yet he said he could hold pale in comparison to a tion to recover from the identical brothers will illumi- Scott Kelly said he was
out another year in the Mars expedition, expected punishing effects of an ex- nate some of the more ex- more anxious to return
“harsh environment” of to last two to three years tended stay in zero gravity, treme effects of weightless- home following his last
space — where nothing round trip. including degraded vision ness on the body. space station stint five
ever feels normal — if he Scientists hope to learn and the loss of bone and The Kellys talked often dur- years ago, which lasted
had to. much from Kelly’s mission muscle. ing the mission, more than 159 days. That was be-
“Yeah, I could go another to pave the way to Mars Awaiting his arrival in Hous- they did before the flight, in cause of the assassination
100 days. I could go an- in two decades. They will ton will be his two daugh- fact. The 250-mile-high out- attempt two months ear-
other year if I had to,” Kelly also collect data from his ters, his girlfriend, who works post has an Internet phone lier on his congresswoman
assured reporters Thursday Russian roommate for the in public affairs at Johnson capable of calling anyone. sister-in-law, Gabrielle Gif-
in a video news confer- year, Mikhail Kornienko. Space Center, and his Mission Control also arrang- fords, Mark’s wife.
ence from orbit. “It would Kelly, 52, a former space identical twin, former astro- es regular video confer- This time, Kelly said, he
just depend on what I was didn’t focus on the end
doing and if it made sense, of his mission but rather on
although I do look forward each upcoming milestone:
to getting home here next the arrival of supplies and
week.” crews, major experiments,
Going without running wa- spacewalks, maintenance
ter for a year has made tasks. Even so, he said,
hygiene difficult, Kelly ac- events from last summer or
knowledged: “It’s kind of fall seem like forever ago.
like I’ve been in the woods He lightened things up re-
camping for a year.” cently by donning a gorilla
But the hardest part of all, suit — a gag gift from Mark
he said, is being separated — and cavorting through
from his loved ones, a situ- the station while the cam-
ation that will pose even eras rolled.
more of a challenge for as- “Next milestone’s coming
tronauts sent to Mars. home,” Kelly said with a
Kelly took questions on smile.
Day 335 of what already He ended the news con-
is NASA’s longest single ference with a slow-mo-
spaceflight. By the time tion backflip — undoubt-
Kelly checks out Tuesday edly one of the pluses of
and rides a Russian cap- space.q
