Long-duration spaceflight can lead to monotony, and during his nearly year-long stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS) in 2015–16, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly experienced such conditions. To alleviate this, his twin brother, former NASA astronaut and current Arizona senator Mark Kelly, arranged an unusual surprise involving a gorilla suit.
Scott Kelly, now 62, recalled the incident in a 2022 interview. He stated that while speaking to his brother from the ISS, Mark Kelly informed him that he intended to send a gorilla suit into space. When asked why, Mark reportedly replied humorously that no gorilla had ever been to space before.
Mark Kelly vacuum-packed the costume to reduce its volume and arranged for it to be launched aboard a SpaceX uncrewed cargo rocket in June 2015. The first attempt failed when the rocket was destroyed shortly after launch.
Key timeline of events
| Date/Period | Event |
|---|---|
| June 2015 | First attempt to send gorilla suit; rocket destroyed |
| After June 2015 | Second attempt successfully delivered suit to ISS |
| February 2016 | Scott Kelly posts gorilla suit video on social media |
| 2022 | Scott Kelly recounts incident in interview |
Following the failure, Mark Kelly sent another gorilla suit, which successfully reached the ISS. Scott Kelly later used the costume during onboard activities. In February 2016, a video was shared on social media showing Scott Kelly emerging in a gorilla suit from a large white storage bag and chasing British astronaut Tim Peake inside the ISS. Due to microgravity, Peake appears to float away in an attempt to escape, creating a humorous visual sequence.
A segment of the video was later shared online by a social media user who incorrectly identified the person in the gorilla suit as Mark Kelly. The video gained significant traction, reportedly accumulating over nine million views, more than 350,000 likes, and approximately 75,000 reposts across platforms.
Scott Kelly later expressed surprise at the renewed viral attention the video received years after its original release. He stated that people naturally enjoy such content and that he did not expect it to resurface online with such popularity. He also clarified that Tim Peake was aware of the staged nature of the sequence and was not genuinely startled during filming.
According to Scott Kelly, the video with Tim Peake was carefully planned to create the impression of an improvised chase in microgravity. The intention was to produce an entertaining and visually engaging clip.
Beyond the staged video, Scott Kelly also used the gorilla suit for other informal onboard activities. On one occasion, he entered a crew member’s sleeping area unexpectedly, surprising them when they opened their compartment door. He later noted that the reaction was intense and that he was concerned about the possibility of causing undue stress in the confined environment of the ISS.
He also described entering the Russian segment of the space station while wearing the costume, where fellow astronauts reportedly reacted with laughter upon seeing a “gorilla” floating in microgravity.
In addition to these informal uses, Kelly stated that he also used the gorilla suit for an educational video aimed at children. He explained that such visual and unconventional demonstrations can help generate interest in science and space exploration, as the unusual image of a gorilla inside a space station is highly attention-grabbing.
Scott Kelly retired from spaceflight after returning to Earth in 2016, following completion of his long-duration mission aboard the ISS.