Seven things you didn't know about space from the astronaut who is in space right now!

Astronaut Scott Kelly became the first American to spend more than 300 days in space. He’s undoubtedly extremely important for scientists as he’s the key in helping them understand how to send humans to Mars.

The fact that he has a twin brother is an added bonus as it’ll help scientists study how space affects the human body during long-term space travel and pinpoint differences between his brother who has been residing in Earth and Kelly who’s been living on the International Space Station(ISS) since March last year. He has spent more than 300 days in space and his body has gone through several changes to adapt to life in zero gravity.

Thus, he decided to hold a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) from space and let us weaker mortals, who can only dream about space and its mysterious offerings a quick-peak into some really cool secrets about how it’s like living in space.

And, in the process became the first person to gold a Reddit AMA from space.


Here are seven things about space he told us:

1. Your arms don’t hang by your side in space like they do in Earth because of zero gravity. Kelly finds his arms floating in front of him very awkward so he always folds his hands.

2. The calluses on your feet in space will eventually fall off. So, the bottom of your feet becomes very soft like newborn baby feet.


3. Surviving in zero gravity feels like there is no pressure at all on your body. Sometimes it feels like you are just hanging but you are not hanging by anything, just hanging there. “If I close my eyes, I can give myself the sensation that I am falling. Which I am, I am falling around the Earth.,” Kelly added.

4. The internet connectivity on space is ‘pretty good.’ It’s like dial-up, but sometimes it works better than other times.

5. According to Kelly, how the International Space Station (ISS) smells vary depending on what segment you are in. Sometimes it has an antiseptic smell. Sometimes it has an odor that smells like garbage. But the smell of space when you open the hatch smells like burning metal to him.

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



7. Kelly’s favorite spot on Earth to see from space is the Bahamas. The brilliant and varied colors of the blue water and contrast looks spectacular from space.

Image credit: Instagram @stationcdrkelly