Astronaut Scott Kelly has been back on earth for over one year now after setting a record for the single longest American space mission. In a sense, his mission is far from over. He will be studied by NASA to see what long-term effects nearly one year in space has had on him. And his health profile will be compared with his twin brother, astronaut Mark Kelly. In addition to giving us information about how space affects humans physically, Scott Kelly has written a book that brings us closer than we have ever been to experiencing life inside the international space station. It cites, it's sounds, even it smells. Scott Kelly, author of endurance, a year in space, a lifetime of discovery, and welcome to the program. I have to ask you how you described the smell of being in space.I guess what you are referring to is not the smell, like the general smell of the station, but the smell when you've opened the hatch and that volume has previously been in space, and it has a very distinct smell that any astronaut that has ever smelled it will never forget it. To me, it smells like burning metal, maybe like a welding smell, or maybe a sparkler on the Fourth of July. Other people's opinions are that it smells different but that is it for me.Being in that space station is inherently dangerous, one of the major threats, so in your book, it reads, it is debris that could hit the space station and destroy it. What happens when you spot some debris heading your way?There is all kinds of debris in space, all sizes, and the space station gets hit a lot by little things. Some of those put some pretty significant holes and parts of the outside. Fortunately, we have some good shielding so it doesn't penetrate the pressurized volume of the space station. But, the bigger piece is the U.S. Air Force can see, and if they see them early enough, they can move the space station out of the way. We had a case come when I was up there, that we were not able to move the space station, and we had to wait for potential impact. In this case, it would have been a 35,000 mile an hour impact, which is 20 times faster than a bullet from a rifle.Why did you sign up for such a long mission in space?I've flown three times previously, and I flew a flight of 159 days, the NASA started talking about having an astronaut spending one year in space. I wasn't interested initially. Six months in space was a long time, but the further I got away from that, and I think it is human nature, you remember the good stuff, you forget the bad stuff, and I wanted to fly again. And I thought, I would like it to be different. Since it was going to be more than twice as long, I figured it would be more than twice as challenging, and I always like challenges. So, I came around to the idea of throwing my name into the hat, to do this.One of the reasons I think that your book endurance has been so well reviewed is because it really does, it is filled with anecdotes that we don't usually hear about astronauts and what it's like to be in space. For instance, I read that you developed a sweet tooth in space, that you never had on earth. Did you notice any other changes in appetite or habits in space?Your sense of taste changes, and I think it is because of a shift of fluid in your body. Taste is mostly due to how we smell things and how we perceive sent. But, the bigger change that people experience, me included, when you're in space for a long time, looking at the earth, I think it changes your perspective on our planet, on humanity. You have a long time to look at the environment, how thin and fragile it looks, how parts are always covered in pollution. At the same time, earth is an incredibly beautiful place, we are lucky to have it, and we look at it, not that often, but when we are out working and we appreciate its beauty. And we follow the news and we hear all the bad news that comes from earth, it makes you shake your head sometimes and think how we need to be much less divisive and work more closely together, because we all share this planet. We are not moving to Mars, we are not going somewhere else. We need to take care of it, and each other, better than we currently do.Speaking of Mars, let's preface that by, if you would please tell us about the physical reaction your body went through when you returned from your year-long mission on the space station.When I got back, I didn't feel great, I felt worse than I did after 159 days, and I had somewhat similar soreness, but then I had symptoms I didn't experience the last time, and that was swelling in my legs when I would stand up. I could feel the blood rushing to my legs and they would swell into small tree stump looking things. I would have rashes all over my body, wherever my skin had touched anything. That lasted a couple of weeks, and it was just a reaction to the fact that my skin did not have any pressure on it for so long. I had flu like symptoms, nausea, I was tired. You lose a lot of blood volume, you get it back but you don't get the red blood cells back quickly. So, you have that deficit. These are things that we need to consider when we travel to Mars someday. Fortunately, we can get to Mars in 200 days and you are on the surface with some gravity, which will help. And coming back, it would be another 200 day trip but, I hope that we have learned things that, on this mission with me and my Russian colleague that will help us go there someday.The documentary on your return to earth, that is airing on PBS this week, and it also profiles current astronauts who may end up going to Mars. Do you ever wish you were part of that generation?I think I would be lying to say I didn't wish that I would be the guy going to Mars someday, or be the guy that got to walk on the moon, but there is only one space program in this country, and I just feel really privileged to have the experience I had. It is not like I would dwell on it at all, really. But, certainly I would like to go to Mars as long as I can come back to earth.I have been speaking with astronaut, Scott Kelly, his book is called endurance: a year in space and a lifetime of discovery.A documentary called beyond a year in space, airs tomorrow night at nine on KPBS television.
Astronaut Scott Kelly has been back on Earth for over a year, after setting a record for the single-longest American space mission. But in a sense, his mission is far from over.
He will be studied by NASA for years to see what long-term effects such a long exposure to space had on him. He will be compared with his twin brother, astronaut Mark Kelly, husband of former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who stayed on Earth.
In his new book, "Endurance," Kelly takes readers inside life at the International Space Station, its sights, its sounds and even its smells.
"It has a very distinct, unmistakable smell," Kelly said. "To me, it smells like burning metal, maybe like a welding smell or maybe like a sparkler on the Fourth of July."
The Kelly brothers are being studied because potential manned missions to Mars will require years in space and scientists are eager to find out exactly how that might affect human health. A new documentary follows Kelly's recovery, along with two astronauts who are training to be part of that next generation of astronauts who might travel to Mars. "Beyond A Year in Space" airs Wednesday at 9 p.m. on KPBS-TV.
"I think I'd be lying to say I didn't wish I'd be the guy going to Mars someday or be the guy that got to walk on the Moon, work on the Moon, visit the Moon," Kelly said. "But there's only one space program in this country and I just feel really privileged to have the experience I had. So it's not like I dwell on it."
Kelly joins KPBS Midday Edition on Tuesday with more about his record-setting time in space.
