A Year in Space

Even from its orbit of 249 miles above, Scott Kelly stays connected to the people of Earth with the power of social media. His Twitter feed and Instagram accounts have become world-wide phenomena. #YearinSpace

The Cold War is over, but tensions between Russia and the United States remain high. Today, there is only one place where American astronauts can launch into space- and it’s in the heart of the old Soviet empire.

The International Space Station is the most expensive and complex object humans have ever built.

We have landed on the moon, sent rovers to Mars and the outer solar system, built a million-pound space station, but we continue to dream of space travel. But why? What compels us to reach for the stars?

Follow astronaut Scott Kelly’s record-breaking 12-month mission on the International Space Station, from launch to landing, as NASA charts the effects of long-duration spaceflight by comparing him to his identical twin on Earth, astronaut Mark Kelly.

In the world of zero gravity of the International Space Station, making dinner can be tricky. Astronauts must rely on surface tension, Velcro and crafty planning to prepare their meals. A Year in Space premieres Wednesday, March 2, 2016, 8/9c on PBS. #YearInSpace

While they are in orbit, and look out back on the Earth, astronauts have a unique perspective on the world. Areas of greater prosperity have a particular characteristic when seen from above...

How something so fun can be so bad for you.

“So the way you rendezvous with the space craft is you kind of get underneath it and sneak up on it,” says astronaut Mark Kelly. You’re moving through millions of miles of cubic space, traveling at 17,500 miles per hour and your margin of error is just inches.

Scott Kelly isn’t only an astronaut- he’s also a father to two daughters. His eldest, Samantha, recounts what it’s like to have a spaceman for a Dad.

For astronauts, blast off can be an out-of-control experience – strapped into a huge controlled explosion.

Over the course of his year in space, astronaut Scott Kelly will conduct over 400 experiments – everything from fluid dynamics to zero gravity farming. But the primary experiment is on himself -- investigating the long-term effects of space travel on the human body.