Down time on the ISS

ReelNASA posted an illuminating video with Astronaut Scott Kelly giving viewers a rare peek inside the personal crew quarters on the ISS. I found it interesting that ISS inhabitants can do online banking or shopping from the privacy of their own rooms. Although considerably smaller, the cramped ISS crew quarters remind me of the crew staterooms at MDRS and FMARS.



In a previous video tour on the ISS, Kelly shared the stunning panoramic views of Earth from the ISS cupola. In its 10 months of operation, the cupola has quickly become a favorite spot for astronauts to photograph the Earth.



Kelly currently serves as Commander of ISS Expedition 26 and will return to Earth on a Soyuz spacecraft in March of next year. Unfortunately, he won't be meeting his twin bother Commander Mark Kelly in space due to the recent slip in the STS-134 launch schedule. If the final Shuttle Endeavour launch had remained in March, the twins would have spent 8 days together on the orbiting outpost. That piece of twin reunion history will just have to wait for posterity. The two astronaut commanders enjoy a fun, competitive relationship, that sometimes plays out on twitter. For more, see NASA's 6-part video interview with the Kelly brothers.