Astronaut Scott Kelly kicks off Desert Town Hall

Record-breaking astronaut Capt. Scott Kelly kicked off this years Desert Town Hall series in Indian Wells Monday night.

As is tradition for the Desert Town Hall presented by the H.N and Frances C. Berger Foundation, Kelly answered questions from local high school students before blasting off to the big stage to talk in front of ticket holders.

Kelly has spent a record-breaking total of 520 days in space, including one stint that lasted almost a year.

Kelly had sky-high spirits and an interstellar sense of humor, but also remembered his colleague Capt. Gene Cernan, last person to walk on the moon. Cernan passed away earlier in the day.

“He was a hero to us in the space program. He lived in or near Houston and was often around. As these Apollo astronauts start passing away they are going to be sorely missed,” said Kelly.

Kelly became a super nova on social media with more than 2 million Twitter followers. Kelly often posted spectacular photos of his view from the international space station.

Kelly said NASA can continue to be the foundation of discovery as long as we on Earth have focus and drive.

“Often as administrations change the plans change, and that makes it harder for us to do things. I hope with this new administration not only would there be more money but there will be a consistency in our mission,” Kelly said.

And what is the next giant leap for mankind? “We will go to Mars someday. I hope that is in my lifetime,” Kelly said.

This is the 25th year of the Desert Town Hall series. The next person scheduled to talk will be former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. She spoke once before in 2010.

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