After holding the American record for the most days in space, Astronaut Commander Scott Kelly returned to earth on Wednesday. Today Kelly spoke to the press in Houston with total appreciation for our planet Earth.
"The Earth is a beautiful planet. It's practically everything to us. It's very important to our survival, and the Space Station is a great vantage point to observe it, and to share our planet in pictures."
From the International Space Station, Kelly was able share over 1,000 photo images with social media. Some poignantly show the trouble and woes we humans place upon this earth.
"You also notice how the atmosphere looks and how fragile it looks," Kelly said. "It makes you more of an environmentalist after spending so much time looking down at our planet.”
In the New York Times video below, Commander Kelly talks a being a back on planet earth. If you let the video run, there are more short clips of of Kelly while in space.
Below are a seven images of Kelly during and after his space expedition.
Making space
U.S. astronaut Scott Kelly is seen inside the Cupola, a special module which provides a 360-degree viewing of the Earth and the space station, aboard the International Space Station, July 12, 2015.
A view from out of this world
Space walking
International Space Station Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly during a spacewalk, in which Kelly and Flight Engineer Tim Kopra successfully moved the International Space Station's mobile transporter rail car ahead of a docking of a Russian cargo supply spacecraft, December 21, 2015. After quickly completing their primary objective for the spacewalk, Kelly and Kopra tackled several additional tasks. Kelly routed a second pair of cables in preparation for International Docking Adapter installment work to support U.S. commercial crew vehicles. Kopra routed an Ethernet cable that ultimately will connect to a Russian laboratory module. They also retrieved tools that had been in a toolbox on the outside of the station, so they can be used for future work.
Honoring the Space Shuttle Challenger crew (Video)
Coming back down to earth
A Soyuz capsule carrying International Space Station (ISS) crew members U.S. astronaut Scott Kelly, Russian cosmonauts Sergei Volkov and Mikhail Korniyenko descends beneath a parachute near the town of Dzhezkazgan (Zhezkazgan), Kazakhstan, March 2, 2016.
Grounded
Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly of NASA is seen after returning to Ellington Field in Houston, Texas, March 3, 2016. The return of NASA astronaut Scott Kelly from the longest U.S. space mission on record will kick off a wave of medical tests and experiments intended to pave the way for extended human missions to Mars.
A word from the boss
What matters most
With earnest conviction, Kelly said he believes humans do have an impact on the environment and the ability to change this world for the better—if we choose. Welcome home, Commander Kelly. Below, Scott Kelly is joined by his brother Mark Kelly and his sister-in-law/former U.S. Congresswoman Gabriella Giffords as he reunites with and enjoys “the dining experience” once again.
Welcome back, Commander Kelly.
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