10 Amazing Photos Taken By Scott Kelly On His Year In Space

photo credit: Scott Kelly returned to Earth yesterday. NASA/Scott Kelly   

Commander Scott Kelly has just returned from his 340-day mission aboard the ISS. The record breaking mission has seen Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko spend almost a year in space, and scientists hope to gain an insight into what long stays in microgravity do to the body, with views on missions to Mars in the future.

Over the last year, Commander Kelly has not only been in charge of the ISS and conducted important scientific experiments, but he has also been an avid scientific communicator, posting incredible photos on his Twitter page. Here's a selection of his best shots. 

This stunning colourful photo was posted by Kelly in February and shows Algeria's Tassili N'Ajjer National Park. NASA/Scott Kelly

In this tweet, Kelly said: "#Bahamas, the strokes of your watercolors are always a refreshing sight." The image of the Caribbean archipelagus was taken last July. NASA/Scott Kelly

This Zinnia plant was the first flower grown in space. The commander snapped this picture in January. NASA/Scott Kelly

"#GoodMorning #Egypt! Your colors never cease to amaze! #YearInSpace " tweeted Kelly after taking this breathtaking picture of the Governorate of Wadi Al-Jadid, Egypt. NASA/Scott Kelly   

"Day 207, dusk over the Indian Ocean with a yellow band on the horizon," this tweet read. The yellow band is the light of the Sun reflecting on the atmosphere. NASA/Scott Kelly

Hurricane Patricia was the second most intense tropical cyclone on record and it was responsible for six casualties. Seeing it over Mexico before making landfall, Scott Kellyremarked on how menacing it looked. NASA/Scott Kelly 

This incredible picture shows the aurora from last August. NASA/Scott Kelly

Our homes in the cosmos, Earth and the Milky Way are visibile in this beautiful picture. NASA/Scott Kelly 

The Alps and the whole italian boot are visibile here through the clouds. He tweeted this inJanuary. NASA/Scott Kelly

A picture of the saltwater lake La’nga Co in Tibet. It's Sanskrit name translates to "lake of the demon", as the lake is devoid of fish and plants. Kelly tweeted this picture in January. NASA/Scott Kelly

One-Year Crew Returns from Space Station March 1

NASA Television will provide complete coverage Tuesday, March 1, as three crew members depart the International Space Station, including NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko of the Russian space agency Roscosmos – the station’s first one-year crew.

NASA Television coverage will begin at 3:10 p.m. EST on Monday, Feb. 29, when Kelly hands over command of the station to fellow NASA astronaut Tim Kopra. Complete coverage is as follows:

Monday, Feb. 29

• 3:10 p.m. -- Change of command ceremony (Scott Kelly hands over space station command to Tim Kopra)

Tuesday, March 1

• 4:15 p.m. -- Farewell and hatch closure coverage; hatch closure scheduled at 4:40 p.m.
• 7:45 p.m. -- Undocking coverage; undocking scheduled at 8:05 p.m.
• 10:15 p.m. -- Deorbit burn and landing coverage; deorbit burn scheduled at 10:34 p.m., with landing at 11:27 p.m. (10:27 a.m. on March 2, Kazakhstan time)

Wednesday, March 2

• 1:30 a.m. -- Video file of hatch closure, undocking and landing activities

Twice the duration of a typical mission, Kelly and Kornienko’s station-record 340 days in space afforded researchers a rare opportunity to study the medical, physiological, and psychological and performance challenges astronauts face during long-duration spaceflight.

The science driving the one-year mission, critical to informing the agency’s Journey to Mars, began a year before Kelly or Kornienko floated into the space station. Biological samples were collected and assessments were performed in order to establish baselines. Comparison samples were taken throughout their stay in space and will continue for a year or more after their return to Earth. Kelly’s identical twin brother, former NASA astronaut Mark Kelly, participated in parallel twin studies on Earth to provide scientists more bases for comparisons.

ISS Expedition 47 officially begins, under Kopra’s command, when the Soyuz carrying Kelly, Kornienko and Sergey Volkov undocks from the space station. Kopra, Yuri Malenchenko of Roscosmos and Tim Peake of ESA (European Space Agency), will operate the station as a three-person crew until the arrival of three new crew members in two weeks. NASA astronaut Jeff Williams and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka are scheduled to launch from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, on March 18 EST.

nasa.gov

This Cat Has Been Guarding Her Little Human Since Before He Was Born

Meet Panda, the 2-year-old adopted cat who’s also an unlikely yet utterly adorable babysitter. Ever since her hoomin Liel Ainmar Assayag got pregnant, she hasn’t left her side. Now, with little Sean born, Panda is completely devoted to him.

“Once I got pregnant she started following me around the house, tucking her head on my belly, purring,” said Assayag. “Now, 3 months later, she jumps on the bed near him, smells him, sits next to him. You can clearly see she loves him from the beginning!”

For what we know, this could be part of a plan to finally take over the world by raising tiny hoomin slaves. Or maybe it’s just cat love. Let’s hope it’s love.

Meet Panda, the 2-year-old adopted cat who’s also an unlikely yet utterly adorable babysitter

Ever since her hoomin Liel Ainmar Assayag got pregnant, she hasn’t left her side

“Once I got pregnant she started following me around the house, tucking her head on my belly, purring”

“Now…she jumps on the bed near him, smells him, sits next to him”

“You can clearly see she loves him from the beginning!”

And it’s not the only cat in the house who loves little Sean! He’s definitely in good paws