1 Space Life Scott Kelly is an American astronaut He is best known for living aboard the International Space Station for a year He was the first American to stay in space that long Before joining NASA Kelly also served in the US Navy Before Kelly was an astronaut he struggled in school He could never focus in the classroom However once he realized he wanted to be an astronaut Kelly was determined to achieve his goals And he never gave up Kelly worked at NASA for 20 years During this time he went on four missions to space He spent a total of 520 days in space While on his yearlong mission Kelly participated in NASA’s Twins Study with his twin brother Mark The study examines how the human body is affected by long-term space residency This study could help determine whether humans can travel to and live on other planets such as Mars 4
2 Challenging Childhood Scott Kelly was born on February 21 1964 in Orange New Jersey Scott was born just after his twin brother Mark Their parents were Patricia and Richard Kelly Scott’s early life was turbulent Richard was an alcoholic He sometimes left the family alone for days at a time As a result Scott and Mark spent much of their time with their grandparents Scott enjoyed the stability and comfort of his grandparents home Scott and Mark were both energetic children who loved to take risks They often rode their bikes and fished together The brothers sometimes got hurt doing stunts or accepting risky dares When Scott was 11 years old his mother decided to become a police officer She studied and trained hard The physical fitness exam was especially difficult for Patricia because she was a small woman But her hard work paid off and she passed the exam Scott looked up to his mother for achieving her goals and never giving up 6
Scott left and Mark often wore matching outfits when they were young
