On September 17, 2015, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly captured an image and a video from the International Space Station during an early morning flyover of the United States. Sharing with his social media followers, Kelly wrote, “Clear skies over much of the USA today. #GoodMorning from @Space_Station! #YearInSpace.”
He wrote on his YouTube channel, “Began the second half of my year in space with this incredible clear-sky fly over America, speeding over Earth 17,500 mph from Mexico up the East Coast of USA.”
Tuesday, September 15 marked the midpoint of the one-year mission to the space station for Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko. The average International Space Station expedition lasts four to six months. Research enabled by the one-year mission will help scientists better understand how the human body reacts and adapts to long-duration spaceflight. This knowledge is critical as NASA looks toward human missions deeper into the solar system, including to and from Mars, which could last 500 days or longer.
Watch the 6-second video clip taken from the International Space Station by NASA astronaut Scott Kelly.
