Last spring, the latest and most important Scott Kelly ISS mission began, as the astronaut was launched into the International Space Station for a one-year period so NASA scientists could study the way a person's body functions during such a long time in space, as he was compared with his fellow astronaut twin brother, Mark Kelly - and now Scott has broken his first record!
In the past, there have been space travelers who have stayed beyond the borders of our planet for longer than a year, as cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Sergei Krikalev have stayed for longer stretches of time out there - but Scott Kelly's ISS mission makes him the first American to stay for this long.
According to Chron.com, Scott Kelly's ISS time has now gone up to 9,000 hours total, between past missions and his current one, the longest any American has undertaken in space traveling history: at 51, the New Jersey-born astronaut has spent an astounding 9,192 hours in outer space, and counting.
As CNN reports, Scott Kelly's ISS mission saw the astronaut break the record last Friday, when he took the title of the American with the most time in space from Mike Finckle, and there's still plenty of time for Kelly: he's scheduled to return to Earth on March 3, after totaling 522 days of space throughout his many voyages.
"Breaking such a record for time in space is important because every additional day helps us better understand how long-duration spaceflight affects bodies and minds, which is critical to advancing NASA's journey to Mars," said the space agency in an official statement last Friday, speaking about the new Scott Kelly ISS record.
According to Gizmodo, Kelly celebrated in a big way, posting a beautiful snap of the sunset as seen from the International Space Station.
In any case, great things keep happening on Scott Kelly's ISS mission, all in the name of science!
