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Scott Kelly What I Learned in Space

In an excerpt from his new memoir the astronaut reflects on his 340-day sojourn to the International Space Station

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly sits inside a Soyuz simulator at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in 2015. NASA/Bill Ingalls and ignoring what I can’t. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. I’ve learned how important it is to sit and eat with other people. While I was in space, I saw on TV one day a scene with people sitting down to eat a meal together. The sight moved me with an unexpected yearning. I suddenly longed to sit at a table with my family, just like the people on the screen, gravity holding a freshly cooked meal on the table’s surface so we could enjoy it, gravity holding us in our seats so we could rest.

We will never have a space station like this again

— Scott Kelly During my year in space, my longtime partner, Amiko, had bought a dining room table and sent me a picture of it. Two days after landing, I was sitting at the head of that table, a beautiful meal spread out on it, my family gathered around me: Amiko; my identical twin brother (and fellow astronaut), Mark; his wife, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords; my father; my daughters, Samantha and Charlotte; and Amiko’s son, Corbin. It was just how I’d pictured it. At one point in the conversation, Gabby pointed urgently at Mark, then me, back and forth, back and forth. She was pointing out that Mark and I were both making exactly the same gesture, our hands folded on top of our heads. I’ve learned what it means to be together with family again. I’ve learned that most problems aren’t rocket science, but when they are rocket science, you should ask a rocket scientist about them. In other words, I don’t know everything, so I’ve learned to seek advice and counsel and to listen to experts. Scott Kelly makes an unplanned spacewalk to free a jammed device on the space station. NASA/Scott Kelly I’ve learned that an achievement that seems to belong to one person probably has hundreds, if not thousands, of people’s work behind it, and it’s a privilege to be the embodiment of that work. I’ve learned that Russian has a more complex vocabulary for cursing than English does, and that it also has a more complex vocabulary for friendship. I’ve learned that a year in space contains a lot of contradictions. A year away from someone you love both strains the relationship and strengthens it in new ways. Flowers & Gifts 25% off sitewide and 30% off select items See more Flowers & Gifts offers > I’ve learned a new empathy for other people, including people I don’t know, people I don’t like and people I disagree with. I’ve started letting people know that I appreciate them, which can freak them out at first. It’s a bit out of character for me. But it’s something I’m glad to have gained and hope to keep. When I got back from space, I felt well enough to go right back to work, but within a few days I felt much worse — nauseated, feverish, with swollen and painful legs. This is what it means to have allowed my body to be used for science. I will continue to be a test subject for the rest of my life. A few months later, I feel distinctly better. I will continue to participate in a twins study, as scientists track how Mark and I age. Science is a slow-moving process, and it may be years before any great understanding or breakthrough is reached from the data. This doesn’t particularly bother me — I will leave the science up to the scientists. For me, it’s worth it to have contributed to advancing human knowledge, even if it’s only a step on a much longer journey. AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe , it will be very difficult, will cost a great deal of money and may cost human lives. But I also know that if we decide to do it, we can. Excerpted from the book Endurance: A Year in Space, a Lifetime of Discovery by Scott Kelly. Copyright 2017 by Scott Kelly. To be published by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. More on entertainment AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS