I’ve been enjoying the book Endurance by Astronaut Scott Kelly. He tells of his life before becoming an astronaut and of his year in space aboard the International Space Station from March 2015 to March 2016. He and his identical twin brother Astronaut Mike Kelly were studied extensively to see the effects of long duration space flight on the human body. This study is an important one for the planned trip to Mars. The Twin Study is ongoing. Here are some of the latest articles about it.
The book provides countless behind the scenes looks at the lives of space explorers. I highly recommend the book to the space enthusiast. Part of Kelly’s duties now include travel to stores and special events to promote the book. My son attended a book-signing event near him and bought a copy for me. Kelly was invited to Talks at Google on 24 Nov 2017 where he spoke for about an hour about his experiences. You can watch his talk at this link.
I am a strong believer that we humans are capable of amazing and wonderful things. When we set our minds to a goal and work together, we can accomplish the most difficult of tasks. As Scott Kelly ended his talk, he spoke of how he feels about the potential of mankind. This is exactly how I see it.
How I See It 
I agree. Reading about Kelly here, I can’t help but think about the amazing crossroads of our times. Science and engineering are soaring but we are floundering politically. The possibilities are endless, both good and bad. What an interesting time to be alive!
Interesting is a good word for it. I read somewhere that times like these with turmoil and possibilities good and bad help us to decide on our future course. It isn’t fun or easy. It is a dreadfully slow process. I guess democracy is messy. But, I see no better way. Let’s hope good minds prevail.
I’m glad to know the book is living up to your expectations. A little inspiration is good for the soul, and there’s a lot of inspiration here.
Yes there is. I’ve been an avid follower of the space program from the beginnings. It captures my imagination.
Inspirational! “If we can dream it, we can do it.” I so agree!
🙂
Imagine a time when a comparison of identical twins will have one of them on earth and the other not in a space station still close to earth but on another planet.
I doubt if that will be in my lifetime.
You just have to resolve to live a long time.
I likely will live long. It’s in my dna.
Then it’s likely nothing mars your chance to see people on Mars.