Quotes from Scott Kelly

I believe in exploration, and I will miss being on the front lines of that endeavor. On one hand, I look forward to going home, but it's something that's been a big part of my life, and I'm going to miss it.

It seems like in the beginning of my flight, the space dreams were rare. And now, almost 150 days into it, the Earth dreams are more of the rare ones.

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

When we do things that are really hard, we can achieve great things - and that has worked as a great model for me.

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.

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

Your arms don't hang by your side in space like they do on Earth because there is no gravity. It feels awkward to have them floating in front of me.

I would say that as a government employee, I am subject to the Hatch Act.

The workouts have positively impacted the astronauts' bones and muscles, and they are coming back in really good shape. But some are losing bone and muscle but not as much as we saw in the early days.

This year-in-space mission was a profound challenge for all involved, and it gave me a unique perspective and a lot of time to reflect on what my next step should be on our continued journey to help further our capabilities in space and on Earth.

On this flight, my fourth spaceflight, I also became the record holder for total days in space and single longest mission.

Flying in space is a privilege, whether it's the first time or the fourth time.

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.

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.

Me, personally, I was a Mets and Giants fan.

If we're going to go farther from Earth, to Mars or somewhere else someday, we have to have a good understanding of the psychological impact on people. And not only psychologically, but how it affects their cognition. We're doing a lot of research on my cognitive abilities.

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.

The majority of astronauts have to change their eyeglasses while in space. They bring eyeglasses with them and typically change a few months into the mission.

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.

We used to have a crew of three on board the space station and even at one time a crew of two people, so it's something we can adjust to.

Just like the bones and muscles, the heart is designed to work in one gravity here on Earth, so when you put the heart in space, it operates differently and changes shape.

I went to the University of Maryland for a year and was considering maybe, you know, being a medical doctor but decided my other interest was maybe flying airplanes in the Navy and just kind of changed my mind and changed schools and changed majors and decided to focus a hundred percent on that.

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.

When you look at the... atmosphere on the limb of the Earth, I wouldn't say it looks unhealthy, but it definitely looks very, very fragile and just kind of like this thin film, so it looks like something that we definitely need to take care of.