Former NASA astronaut Mark Kelly is one of three Democrat politicians in the US being touted as a potential running mate for Kamala Harris.
Following US president Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the upcoming presidential campaign, Harris is looking likely to be certified as the Democrat presidential candidate.
And various media outlets including the Washington Post, ABC News, Newsweek and the UK’s Guardian newspaper are suggesting Mark Kelly could be one of the most likely picks to become Harris’s running mate.
Across the coverage of this story, three names are cited as being among Kamala Harris’s likely selection: governors Josh Shapiro and Roy Cooper, and Mark Kelly, who is an Arizona senator and a former NASA astronaut.
Who is Mark Kelly?
Mark Kelly is best known in the world of spaceflight as being a former NASA astronaut and the identical twin brother of former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly.
The two took part in NASA’s Twins Study, which used both Mark and Scott as test subjects to discern how long-duration spaceflight affects the human body.
While Scott Kelly spent a year in space onboard the International Space Station, Mark Kelly remained on Earth.
Scientists were then able to examine and compare the two brothers to observe how spaceflight had caused changes in Scott that had not occurred in Mark.
Tests and results are ongoing, and you can find out the latest news from the experiments via NASA’s Twins Study page.
Mark Kelly joined NASA as an astronaut candidate in 1996.
He flew during the Space Shuttle era, commanding flights STS-134 – the final flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour – and STS-124 to the International Space Station.
Kelly was also pilot of missions STS-121 and STS-108.
He retired from NASA in 2011 and was sworn in as a US Senator for Arizona in 2020.
Since Joe Biden’s withdrawal from his campaign to seek re-election, Mark Kelly, along with Shapiro and Cooper, has publicly endorsed Harris to replace Biden in the presidential race against former US president Donald Trump.
Kamala Harris has secured the support of a majority of Democrat delegates, making it increasingly likely she will be selected at the Democrat presidential candidate.