Scott Kelly just hit a major milestone, passing his 300th day in space for NASA's Year in Space program. To commemorate the event, the astronaut took part in an "Ask Me Anything" session for Reddit, answering a variety of questions ranging from why his arms are always folded to concerns about Internet speed.
Kelly posted a tweet on Jan. 22 to invite people to the event, which was scheduled for Jan. 23. He routinely gets a number of questions about his stay at the International Space Station or simply anything related to being out in space through his social media accounts, but this AMA is his first for Reddit.
His stint for A Year in Space also marked Kelly's fourth spaceflight and got him the record not only for the single longest mission but the most number of days spent in space as well.
"A year is a long time to live without the human contact of loved ones, fresh air and gravity, to name a few. While science is at the core of this groundbreaking spaceflight, it also has been a test of human endurance," Kelly posted on his AMA page.
When redditor Doug_Lee asked Kelly why his arms are always folded, the astronaut explained that arms don't hang by the side of the body as they usually when you're in space. He feels this is awkward so he tucks his arms in, which he also thinks is more comfortable.
"Wow this is something I legitimately never considered, I just thought you were being gangsta," said DaedalusMinion, to which Herman999999999 replied, "As if living in space for 300 days isn't gangsta enough."
Nice to see Kelly's earning some street cred while helping further research for deep-space missions.
From the Reddit AMA, Kelly also confirmed that pranks are played in space, calluses eventually fall off resulting in baby-soft feet, space suits weigh about 200 pounds when Earth's gravity is present and a rogue spaceship cannot dock unnoticed on the ISS (unless it is fitted with a cloaking device, which doesn't exist at the moment).
Signed off my @Reddit_AMA, comm loss. It happens. #ThankYou for your great questions today! #YearInSpace https://t.co/mhe09DG0Mt
— Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) January 23, 2016
