In Pictures: The First 216 Days of My Twin Brother Scott Kelly’s Record-Setting #YearInSpace

My Scott brother and I in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, just prior to his launch in March 2015.

As of today, no other American has ever spent more consecutive days off of our planet than my twin brother, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly.

Today — on the 216th day of his year-long mission aboard the International Space Station — Scott has surpassed the 2007 record of 215 days set by NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría for the longest continuous space flight by an American.

216 days ago, Scott and two Russian cosmonauts left our planet from Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome, the oldest space launch facility in the world, and went from zero to 17,500 miles per hour in about 12 minutes.

After docking, opening the hatch, and floating out of their capsule and into the International Space Station — which is about the size of a four-bedroom house — Scott settled in for his year-long mission.

For 216 days, Scott has served our country in zero gravity, floating inside the International Space Station while orbiting the planet at 17,500 miles per hour. On this flight alone, he has already traveled 72 million miles around Earth.

For 216 days, Scott has lived in a tough, unforgiving, and unchanging environment. The lighting hasn’t changed. The temperature and humidity haven’t changed. The humming and whirring of the Space Station hasn’t changed.

Fortunately for Scott and his crewmates, the International Space Station provides some pretty good views. And fortunately for all of us, Scott has heeded President Obama’s order at February’s State of the Union to Instagram — and tweet — photos of his mission. He has not disappointed.

Here are some of my favorite photos from Scott’s record-setting #YearInSpace mission.

March 27, 2015

Liftoff. Scott and the Expedition 43 crew launch to the International Space Station aboard a Soyuz rocket from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Baikonur Cosmodrome, the oldest space launch facility in the world. Scott and his crewmates went from zero to 17,500 miles per hour in about 12 minutes.

March 28, 2015

After making the six-hour voyage from Earth to the International Space Station, my brother enters the Space Station and shakes hands with fellow NASA astronaut Terry Virts.

March 30, 2015

After a successful docking, the entire Expedition 43 crew gathered for a photo in the Destiny laboratory . Pictured above with Scott are Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko (top left), Anton Shkaplerov, Gennady Padalka, European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti (bottom left), and Expedition 43 commander and NASA astronaut Terry Virts.

April 5, 2015

The Easter Bunny pays a visit to the International Space Station.

April 8, 2015

These days, Scott’s kitchen looks a little different than ours did when we were growing up in West Orange, New Jersey.

April 12, 2015

California’s San Francisco Bay. Alcatraz Island is pictured at the top of the frame.

April 26, 2015

The Bahamas — the place on Earth Scott thinks is most beautiful from space.

May 2, 2015

Houston, Texas. NASA’s Johnson Space Center (and Scott’s house!) is somewhere down there.

May 15, 2015

Scott was able to catch me on Celebrity Jeopardy as I competed against my friend Aaron Rodgers, the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, and Kevin O’Leary of the show “Shark Tank” to raise money for charity. Good thing Scott was kind enough to take this photo while I was still in first place.

May 23, 2015

New York City is as cool from space as it is on Earth.

May 25, 2015

Arlington National Cemetery as seen from the International Space Station on Memorial Day.

June 14, 2015

In honor of Flag Day, Scott and his crewmates flew the Stars and Stripes inside the International Space Station’s observatory module known as the ‘cupola.’

June 18, 2015

June 24, 2015

Flying over the Great Lakes at 17,500 MPH.

July 9, 2015

A third of the way through his mission, Scott tries to keep his feet grounded on Earth as best he can. In addition to taking lots of photos, he’s a big Houston Texans fan and also does a lot of reading. There’s a phone on the International Space Station and while I can’t call up, he can call down. We talk about every other day.

July 20, 2015

The Moon, Venus, Jupiter and Earth align.

August 10, 2015

This August, fresh food grown in the microgravity environment of space officially was on the menu for the first time on the International Space Station. Scott sampled the fruits of their labor after harvesting a crop of “Outredgeous” red romaine lettuce from the Veggie plant growth system. If we are ever going to send Americans beyond low-Earth orbit on multi-year journeys to places like Mars, having systems that provide a sustainable food supplement will be essential.

August 14, 2015

It’s pretty hard to spot seasonal changes from space. But as my brother Scott says, “the Aurora in the North is getting stronger, so I know change is coming.”

August 25, 2015

Scott unpacking some fresh fruit that arrived on the Kounotori 5 H-II Transfer Vehicle. Meals aboard the Space Station typically consist of dehydrated and thermostabilized food, so some fresh fruit is a welcome sight.

August 27, 2015

Celebrating National Burger Day aboard the International Space Station. Not exactly In-N-Out Burger.

September 15, 2015

Scott seen in a window of the International Space Station’s cupola.

September 24, 2015

October 2, 2015

Hurriane Joaquin inches towards the Bahamas.

October 8, 2015

When Scott returns to our planet in March after spending nearly one year in space, he’ll have orbited the Earth 5,472 times, traveling more than 141 million statute miles. He’ll have put himself at tremendous risk for science, for America’s space program, and for our country. And there is no doubt he’ll be happy to be home — and that all of us Americans who believe it is in the DNA of our great country to explore will be grateful to Scott for his service.