Aug 5, 2015 The duo of NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, who have spent four months on board the International Space Station, a $100-billion laboratory flying about 250 miles above Earth on a record breaking year-long mission, have confirmed that they are feeling great.
The mission, which is aimed at finding out how the human body reacts to a prolonged stay in space, is the first time anyone has attempted to spend a year on the ISS, although four Soviet-era cosmonauts pulled off a similar feat aboard the Mir space station.
Speaking during an interview from space, Scott Kelly said:
“I’m feeling great. I think Misha is feeling great as well. I think we still have a lot of energy left in the tank so to speak… I personally don’t feel claustrophobic but I do recognize there is a sense of a loss of freedom to kind of do what you chose. You have a very structured schedule and you follow that schedule very closely. If you wanted to deviate from it you really don’t have that capability. And I also get the sense that you don’t have the capability to go outside and take a walk and put your feet in the grass, go swimming, take a shower. That’s definitely recognized. So there are some hardships that we live with up here but on the other hand it’s an amazing place, it’s fascinating and it’s a great experience,”
Commenting on his contact with earth and social media activity, the NASA astronaut said that there are many ways to keep in touch with those on earth which includes telephone and internet
“As far as the pictures and stuff I post, it’s fun for me and I think people connect with things, with the earth and things they can see and things that are beautiful,”
Despite several failed attempts to send cargo to the station, Kelly maintains that the crew is doing fine on supplies. He went on to share his happiness over the arrival of three new crew members which include veteran Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko and astronauts Kjell Lindgren and Kimiya Yui.
“It’s great having company and the other interesting thing about that is it’s great sharing the experience with two people that have never flown in space before. Kjell Lindgren from Nasa and Kimiya Yui from the Japanese space agency. It’s great seeing this place a little bit through their eyes and how magical a place it is. They’ve been on board a week now and they are doing absolutely great, performing like veterans, feeling great and it’s great to share this experience with them,”