The International Space Station or the ISS has been in orbit since 1998 and it has been occupied for 15 years and 118 days. It has been privy to a multitude of scientific research ranging from human research, space medicine, life sciences, physical sciences, astronomy and meteorology. Amongst the most significant milestone on the ISS however is Scott Kelly's A Year in Space.
NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly together with Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Korniyenko was launched to the ISS for their one-year mission in March 27,2015. The mission involved studying how the human body reacts to the long term exposure to the harsh environment in space.
After the longest stint aboard the space station in history, the pair is scheduled to return to earth on March 1st, 2016. Scott Kelly has since handed over command of the ISS to fellow astronaut Tim Kopra. During the ceremony held just yesterday, Kelly gushed about not only going home but also passing the baton to his colleague.
"The change of command ceremony on the space station means a number of things. One thing it means is that some of us are going home tomorrow. But, it also means the change of command between Tim Kopra and I of the authority on the space station, but more importantly the responsibility." exclaimed Kelly.
Kelly has since shared his excitement about going home on his official twitter account. The astronaut has shut down his office aboard the space station and has begun to countdown on his return to the planet.
"#Countdown We're down to a wakeup. #Earth. I'm coming for you tomorrow! #GoodNight from @space_station! #YearInSpace" read one of his tweets.
Both Scott Kelly and Mikhail Korniyenko are scheduled to close the hatch of their Soyuz capsule at 440 PM Eastern Time. They are expected to land in Kazakhstan at 11:27 PM.