NASA - Commander Kelly on the Station

Credit: NASA

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, Expedition 25 flight engineer, is pictured in the ESA Cupola of the International Space Station on Oct. 14, 2010.

NASA has selected Kelly for a one-year mission aboard the station in 2015.

Kelly will join Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko on a mission that will collect scientific data important to future human exploration of our solar system.

The goal of the yearlong expedition aboard the orbiting laboratory is to understand better how the human body reacts and adapts to the harsh environment of space.

Data from the 12-month expedition will help inform current assessments of crew performance and health and will determine better and validate countermeasures to reduce the risks associated with future exploration as NASA plans for missions around the moon, an asteroid and ultimately Mars.