NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly conducted a Reddit question-and-answer session Sunday from the International Space Station, discussing everything from the particulars of being in space for almost a year to his favorite David Bowie song — and it’s not “Space Oddity.”
The questions ranged from the mundane, such as details about his day-to-day routine in space, to the more esoteric, such as the various smells in the ISS. Mr. Kelly, a retired Naval captain, said space itself smells to him like “burnt metal.”
“On this flight, my fourth spaceflight, I also became the record holder for total days in space and single longest mission. A year is a long time to live without the human contact of loved ones, fresh air and gravity, to name a few. While science is at the core of this groundbreaking spaceflight, it also has been a test of human endurance,” Mr. Kelly said in his introduction to the “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) session. He goes by “StationCDRKelly” on Reddit.
“Connections back on Earth are very important when isolated from the entire world for such a period of time, and I still have a way to go before I return to our planet. So, I look forward to connecting with you all back on spaceship Earth to talk about my experiences so far as I enter my countdown to when I will begin the riskiest part of this mission: coming home.”
Here is a random sampling from the Reddit session:
Doug_Lee: “Why do you always have your arms folded?”
StationCDRKelly: “Your arms don’t hang by your side in space like they do on Earth because there is no gravity. It feels awkward to have them floating in front of me. It is just more comfortable to have them folded. I don’t even have them floating in my sleep, I put them in my sleeping bag.”
Pighalf: “Hi Scott, thanks for doing this AMA. Could you tell us something unusual about being in space that many people don’t think about?”
StationCDRKelly: “The calluses on your feet in space will eventually fall off. So, the bottoms of your feet become very soft like newborn baby feet. But the top of my feet develop rough alligator skin because I use the top of my feet to get around here on space station when using foot rails.”
Emshedoesit: “Hey up there!! What does zero G feel like on your body when you are just hanging out? Does it make your eyes open a little bit wider, or anything like that?? Thank you so much for your dedication to the advancement of human space exploration.”
StationCDRKelly: “It feels like there is no pressure at all on your body. Sometimes it feels like you are just hanging but you are not hanging by anything, just hanging there. If I close my eyes, I can give myself the sensation that I am falling. Which I am, I am falling around the Earth.”
Senray: “How are you doing this AMA? Are you directly typing it from a laptop on the ISS, or are is it being dictated? What do you suppose the chances are of us getting to mars any time soon?”
StationCDRKelly: “I am talking to you live, but someone else is typing this in. Depends on your definition of soon. If we wanted to devote the appropriate resources to go to Mars, we could do it.”
Buymeapickle: “Mr. Kelly, what is the largest misconception about space/space travel that society holds onto?”
StationCDRKelly: “I think a lot of people think that because we give the appearance that this is easy, that it is easy. I don’t think people have an appreciation for the work that it takes to pull these missions off, like humans living on the space station continuously for 15 years. It is a huge army of hard working people to make it happen.”
AstronautJ: What is your favorite David Bowie song?
StationCDRKelly: “You might be surprised, but it’s not Space Oddity. Probably Modern Love.”
To read the rest of the “Ask Me Anything” session with Mr. Kelly, click here. To visit his Facebook page, click here; Twitter, click here; or Instagram, click here.
• Maria Stainer can be reached at mstainer@washingtontimes.com.
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