SCOTT KELLY

People do really well on space missions, but it's the physiological, the medical stuff, the stuff like radiation, loss of bone mass and muscle mass and density. It's those things that we need to figure out.

I believe in the importance of flying in space and the research that we do.

The thing I like most about flying in space is not the view. The thing I like about it is doing something I feel very, very strongly about.

What we look for are people that are technically competent. You need a background in a scientific field, whether it's as a scientist, an engineer, medical doctor, or, you know, a person that's in the military with some kind of technical background.

When I look at the clouds over the Earth, and I know how high clouds are, I get a sense we are really, really far above those clouds. I wouldn't call it scary, but I am aware I am in space.

This is a really big space station. We do a lot of various kinds of work here, different kinds of science experiments; we have over 400 different experiments going on at any one time in different areas, from basic science research to medical technology, that hopefully will benefit more people on Earth.

We don't do laundry because that requires a lot of water, and water's at a premium up here. Plus, it'd be pretty complicated, I think, to make a space washer, although I guess you could do it. So we generally throw our clothes out. I think I've been wearing this pair of pants for about two months.

A lot of the data we collect is stuff that has to be analyzed on the ground. For instance, we can't see, you know, bone loss. Our cells, you know, that's something that we'll have to notice with imaging technology when I get back.

I think what most people miss, and what I missed last time, are the people that are important in your life. You know, the relationships you have with people on the ground.

There are few aspects of everyday life that aren't touched by the technologies developed for space travel.

We have a lot of systems here on board the space station, and we can't call a repair man when one of them breaks.

Going to Mars is a bunch of baby steps, and it started off with the first human in space, Yuri Gagarin.

I am humbled and excited by new opportunities for me to support and share the amazing work NASA is doing to help us travel farther into the solar system and work with the next generation of science and technology leaders.

It's an international space station. We have crew members from both the U.S. and Russia and now the United Kingdom with Tim Peake from the U.K... It's great to see that, on this space station, that we can work across cultures in a very cooperative way.

A year is a long time to live without the human contact of loved ones, fresh air, and gravity, to name a few.

The planet will get better; it's us that won't be here because we'll destroy the environment.

My dad worked nights mostly and while we were growing up, and my mother also worked, so there were times where, when it was just the two of us at home, and, you know, they gave us a pretty long leash, actually.

I don't mean to say it's not fresh on the space station, but there's nothing like new, cold air coming into the capsule.

If you go on a journey to Mars and get into deep space, there is several hundred times, maybe 300 times the radiation.

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.

There are definitely parts of Asia, Central America that when you look at them from space, you're always looking through a haze of pollution. As far as the atmosphere is concerned, and being able to see the surface, you know, I would say definitely those areas that I mentioned look kind of sick.

I personally think going to Mars, if it takes two years or two and a half years, that's doable. Certainly, the first people who go there, that's going to be a big motivator, being first getting to Mars.

There's certainly a loss of connection with folks on the ground who I care for and love and I want to spend time with.

Sleeping here is harder here in space than on a bed because the sleep position here is the same position throughout the day. You don't ever get that sense of gratifying relaxation here that you do on Earth after a long day at work.

We do a lot of science on the space station. Over the course of the year, there'll be 400 to 500 different investigations in all different kinds of disciplines. Some are related to improving life on earth in material science, physics, combustion science, earth sciences, medicine.