After a year in space, astronaut to retire

Astronaut Scott Kelly will retire from Nasa in April, after spending nearly a year in space and setting a record for the most cumulative days in space of any American, the US space agency said.

Kelly, a former Navy pilot who joined Nasa in 1996, will leave the agency April 1. “This year-in-space mission was a profound challenge for all involved, and it gave me a unique perspective and a lot of time to reflect on what my next step should be on our continued journey to help further our capabilities in space and on Earth,” Kelly said in a statement.

“I am humbled and excited by new opportunities for me to support and share the amazing work Nasa is doing to help us travel farther into the solar system and work with the next generation of science and technology leaders.” He gave no further details on his plans post-retirement. However, Kelly — who is allowing his body to be studied to further research on the effects of long-term spaceflight — will “continue to participate in the ongoing research related to his one-year mission,” Nasa said. Kelly is a four-time veteran of spaceflight. His first trip was aboard the space shuttle Discovery in 1999, during a mission to repair Nasa’s Hubble Space Telescope.