U.S. astronaut Scott Kelly has been aboard the International Space Station for 216 days straight today already, breaking the record for the longest space flight by an American.
The 51-year old ISS Commander has surpassed the 2007 record of Spanish-American astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria who spent 215 days straight in orbit. Kelly, along with his identical twin brother Mark, are part of the NASA Twins Study, which aims to observe the effects of zero gravity on Kelly's brain and body and then compare it to the records of his twin brother Mark, who was a former U.S. astronaut. The study will have 10 experiments in 4 areas: human physiology, behavioral health, microbiology and molecular.
His longest space flight record of 216 days, combined to his previous missions, has already accumulated 396 days in orbit. This is also the most cumulative days spent by an American astronaut in space, beating Mike Fincke's previous record of 382 days.
His current mission, on the other hand, will take him 126 days more in space. Together with cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, Scott is past of another experiment to test how human body copes with prolonged space travel. They will be the first to stay aboard in ISS for a year.
"What makes this exciting for me, this one-year flight, is about the science and everything we're going to learn from expanding the envelope on the space station," Kelly said in an interview (via Daily Mail).
"If we're ever going to go to Mars someday, the International Space Station is really a great platform to learn much more about having people live and work in space for longer durations," he added.
On his 215th day in space, prior to setting the longest space flight record for an American, Kelly celebrates his record-setting mission by performing his first spacewalk, which was the 32nd space walk ever performed by an American. The Verge, in its report, noted that while spacewalks may be fun and cool to watch, it can be laborious as astronauts are encased in spacewalking suits that weigh more than 350 pounds.
