The space astronaut who arrived resigned from NASA – El Colombiano

astronaut Scott Kelly, the first American to spend a year in space, said Friday q ue leaves the US space agency, Nasa, after 20-year career and four missions

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“This year in space was a huge challenge for all involved and gave me a unique perspective and long for reflect on what should be my next step in our ongoing mission to improve our capabilities in space and on Earth “, said astronaut in a NASA statement.

the announcement of his withdrawal comes ten days after his return to Earth with his Russian colleague Mikhail Kornienko, after 340 days on the International Space Station (ISS) as part of a mission to test human endurance and determine whether it would be safe to send people to Mars.

After leaving NASA on April 1, Kelly will continue to participate in the studies of its one-year mission in space, including medical examinations and other tests.

(Read here: Astronaut came from space grew 5 centimeters)

Kelly and Kornienko spent a year in space, but its mission is actually three .

A year before departing the ISS, the two astronauts began participating in a series of research to better understand how the human body responds to long space stays.

Then they took samples of blood, urine and saliva, tests that have been repeated them during their year in space and which continue to be submitted during the twelve months following his return.

Kelly and his twin brother Mark, an astronaut retired, involved in ten investigations into human psychology, health, microbiology and molecular study where your data are compared one space and another on Earth

with his last mission, Kelly took a double record. is astronaut country’s longest running (340 days) and more total time (520 days) has been in space.

The astronaut, who entered the NASA in 1966, traveled four times to the space . In 1999 on the shuttle Discovery for a mission of the Hubble telescope in 2007 on a mission to the ISS aboard the shuttle Endeavour in 2010 he spent six months on the station and in 2015 returned to his mission record for time in space.

“I’m excited about the new opportunities that may have to support and share the incredible work that NASA does to help us fly farther in the solar system, and working with the new generation of leading scientists and technology “Kelly said in his note.

astronaut, with partner and father of two daughters, told shortly after returning to the United States than in the station missed his family, but could alleviate the nostalgia talking with them for a phone from which you could make calls but not receive them.

“ could stay another one hundred days . I could stay another year if I had to. Would depend on what he was doing made sense, but I want to go home, “h abía confessed in a chat with journalists from the ISS shortly before his return.

In his first press conference since in Houston (Texas), astronaut left the door open to “buy tickets for commercial flights, maybe in 20 years.”

“I think continued then- never say that one hundred percent abandonment outer space”.