There's officially been a human in space for 15 straight years

An astronaut outside the International Space Station (ISS)
(Image credit: NASA via Getty Images)

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly has lived on the International Space Station for 219 days and counting as part of a yearlong mission designed in part as a precursor to a potential Mars mission. The commander had a good time getting in the Halloween spirit from space, but now there's a much bigger occasion to celebrate.

Monday marks 15 straight years of human presence aboard the station, and the six-man crew of U.S., Russian, and Japanese astronauts will commemorate the anniversary with a special dinner, The Associated Press reports.

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Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.