Skip to main content

Scott Kelly answered questions on Tumblr, and the result was pretty hilarious

scott kelly retires astronaut nasa space exploration
Image used with permission by copyright holder
While astronaut communication with us terrestrial beings isn’t all that uncommon (it happens through Twitter, space videos, and sometimes, even a phone call), getting to “speak” one-on-one with a denizen of the International Space Station is still a pretty spectacular experience. I mean, come on — not everyone is stationed in space. Today, astronaut Scott Kelly hosted a live “Answer Time” session, essentially Tumblr’s answer to Reddit’s wildly popular “Ask Me Anything” series. Questions ranged from the practical to the puny and everything in between during the candid session, and both the inquiries and their responses made for some pretty hilarious reading.

The whole session began, of course, with the age-old question — how would this non-pants wearing entity wear pants?

tumblr_o2hzl3KyrX1v63w0fo1_1280
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The answer? According to Kelly, he’s worn the same pair of pants for six months — guess there’s really no one to impress that high above the stratosphere.

There were quite a lot of food-related questions, with a number of Tumblr users curious about both the taste of space meals and the logistics of their consumption. When asked, “Does food taste differently in space?” Kelly responded, “Fluid shifts seem to affect your sense of smell and taste, so people find their preferences of foods change here in space.” Apparently, tortilla-based sandwiches are a staple in an astronaut diet, but to fight the blandness, the astronauts specially requested hot sauce to be sent up from Earth.

And of course, once you’ve eaten, you’ve got to brush your teeth, which appears to be quite a challenge in space — Kelly says that he uses “a little bit of toothpaste and swallow[s] it.” He does not recommend it.

There were also logistical questions about how Kelly and his colleagues spend their days on the ISS. According to the astronaut’s Answer Time answers, the team divides their time quite evenly in three directions —  doing science, general upkeep, and maintenance. There is, Kelly says, “very little time for free time.”

Perhaps some of the most interesting questions Kelly received were about his sleep and dreaming patterns while away from Earth. He revealed that when he first began his mission, “most of my dreams were Earth-based. Then, they became space-based. And now as I am getting ready to return home, I am dreaming of Earth again.” The astronaut also noted that he sleeps less in space than he did on Earth, adding, “I definitely miss sleeping in a bed.” And as for that terrifying feeling of falling in your dreams, Kelly admits that it’s much more pronounced in space. “Initially [that feeling] can be a little bit startling,” he said. “I can definitely make myself feel like I am falling. But it doesn’t bother me anymore.”

To check out the rest of the questions and answers (including whether or not he is actually in space and his day-to-day schedule), visit Kelly’s full Answer Time Tumblr page, and follow the astronaut to ensure you never miss a post.

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
X rival Threads could be about to get millions of more users
Instagram Threads app.

Threads -- Meta’s rival to X, formerly Twitter -- has just launched in the European Union (EU), a market with nearly half a billion people.

The app launched in the U.S. to much fanfare in July, with Meta hoping to attract X users disillusioned with the turbulence on the platform since Elon Musk acquired it for $44 billion 14 months ago.

Read more
X (formerly Twitter) returns after global outage
A white X on a black background, which could be Twitter's new logo.

X, formerly known as Twitter, went down for about 90 minutes for users worldwide early on Thursday ET.

Anyone opening the social media app across all platforms was met with a blank timeline. On desktop, users saw a message that simply read, "Welcome to X," while on mobile the app showed suggestions for accounts to follow.

Read more
How to create multiple profiles on a Facebook account
A series of social media app icons on a colorful smartphone screen.

Facebook (and, by extension, Meta) are particular in the way that they allow users to create accounts and interact with their platform. Being the opposite of the typical anonymous service, Facebook sticks to the rule of one account per one person. However, Facebook allows its users to create multiple profiles that are all linked to one main Facebook account.

In much the same way as Japanese philosophy tells us we have three faces — one to show the world, one to show family, and one to show no one but ourselves — these profiles allow us to put a different 'face' out to different aspects or hobbies. One profile can keep tabs on your friends, while another goes hardcore into networking and selling tech on Facebook Marketplace.

Read more