NASA's Scott Kelly breaks record for most days living in space
NASA astronaut Scott Kelly broke a record Friday becoming the American who has spent the most time in space.
On Oct. 16, Kelly spent his 383rd day living in space, surpassing U.S. astronaut Mike Fincke's record of 382 cumulative days.
Days in space: 383! @StationCDRKelly is now the U.S. astronaut with the most time spent off the Earth.
https://t.co/NSqzX6FWbX
— NASA (@NASA) October 16, 2015
Kelly's time in space has been split between four missions. He is currently in the middle of a nearly yearlong stay aboard the International Space Station. When he lands on March 3, 2016, he will have tallied up a total of 522 days, setting the bar very high for the next American record.
On Twitter, Kelly expressed a mix of humility, humor and hope for the space agency's goal to explore deep space.
Records are meant to be broken. Look fwd to one of my colleagues surpassing my end 500+ days on our #JourneyToMars! https://t.co/6SrbC8kIBP
— Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) October 16, 2015
He'll break yet another record in just a couple weeks when, on Oct. 29, he reaches his 216th consecutive day in orbit.
"Each additional day in orbit as part of the one-year mission along with cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, Kelly will continue to add to his record and to our understanding of the effects of long-duration spaceflight," NASA said in a statement.
The duo's extended stay is providing crucial data on the effects of space travel on the human body to help prepare for an eventual journey to Mars, in the 2030s.