Astronaut, Cosmonaut Return After 340-Day Stay On Space Station

John Keefer

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Aug 12, 2013
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Astronaut, Cosmonaut Return After 340-Day Stay On Space Station

[tweet t=https://twitter.com/StationCDRKelly/status/704768329358012416]

After a record 340 days on the International Space Station, astronaut Scott Kelly and cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko return to Earth, and prepare for more tests on how the time in space affected their bodies.

It's been a long time since astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko felt firm ground under their feet, breathed the cool Earth air, or even had running water. Now, they are finally home and can enjoy some of the things we might take for granted.

After a record 340 days on the ISS, both returned in their space-bound limo, a Russian Soyuz TMA-18M capsule late last night in Kazakhstan. Their chauffeur was cosmonaut Sergey Volkov.

While in space, the two men performed many tests designed to get more information on what astronauts will face during prolonged stays in a weightless environment, with the results aimed specifically at planning a trip to Mars. Now that they are back on Earth, they will undergo even more tests to help flesh out the findings.

With the end of the mission, Kelly is now the NASA vet with the most space time - a whopping 520 days. Kornienko is not far behind with 516 days, but Volkov beats them both with 548 days spread over three flights.

Check out the gallery below for highlights from the year in space.

[gallery=5884]

And then you can hear the interview with the crew after their return and recovery.


Source: NASA [http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-astronaut-scott-kelly-returns-safely-to-earth-after-one-year-mission]

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Jeteye

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Feb 7, 2011
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Welcome home Scott. It's been a pleasure following your last year in space.
 

Jburton9

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Aug 21, 2012
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Amazing, being gone so long I could imagine coming back would feel like landing on an alien planet.

Beautiful shots, from the space station.
 

CeeBod

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John Keefer said:
After a record 340 days on the International Space Station,
After a record 340 days in space,
Sorry to pick the nit, but the 2nd one of those things isn't correct - Valeri Polyakov holds the record with a 437 day trip into space, mostly spent on the Mir station.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spaceflight_records
 

John Keefer

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Aug 12, 2013
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CeeBod said:
John Keefer said:
After a record 340 days on the International Space Station,
After a record 340 days in space,
Sorry to pick the nit, but the 2nd one of those things isn't correct - Valeri Polyakov holds the record with a 437 day trip into space, mostly spent on the Mir station.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spaceflight_records
You are correct. And I knew that too. Fixed, with apologies.