After 340 days in space, astronaut Scott Kelly back on Earth

Mar 08, 2016, 14:24

After 340 days in space, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly has returned to earth on Tuesday, a testament to the strength of the human body outside of the protection of our atmosphere.

Scientists will study Kelly for the health effects of extended space travel, expecting it to be a steppingstone for a potential trip to Mars.

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and cosmonauts Sergey Volkov and Mikhail Kornienko of the Russian space agency Roscosmos review procedures aboard the International Space Station in September 2015. The astronauts are expected to go through field tests to determine whether they are healthy.

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In other news WashingtonPost News reported, "The air feels great out here", NASA spokesman at the scene, Rob Navias, quoted Kelly as saying.

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Before landing, Kelly said one of the hardest aspects of being in space was the physical isolation. He's now broken the record for an American astronaut with a 340-day stint in space, as well as the record for total number of days in space - 520 over four missions. In the case of Kelly and his identical twin, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, the testing could last a year if not longer.

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In his year aboard the space station Kelly has been an avid Internet poster, capturing stunning views on his Instagram page and tweeting regularly to almost a million followers while travelling some 143 million miles (230 million kilometres). It's expected the "Twin Study" will yield new insights that can help inform a future mission into deep space. Volkov returned after spending six months on the station.

Kelly acknowledged it was bittersweet leaving the space station - his home since last March, now staffed by three men until the arrival of three more in two weeks.

Kornienko, Volkov, and Scott Kelly.

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The roughly 249-mile freefall back to Earth inside the Soyuz takes about 45 minutes, and the process for making sure the trio arrive at their destination will be very complex. They checked out of the International Space Station 3½ hours earlier.