--- title: "Veteran NASA Astronaut Elected to US Senate" description: "Former NASA astronaut and US Navy veteran Mark Kelly, a Democrat, beat incumbent Martha McSally (R-AR) for a seat on the US senate." date: "2020-11-04" modified: "2020-11-04" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/veteran-nasa-astronaut-elected-to-us-senate" categories: - "Future Society" - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "election" - "the digest" --- # Veteran NASA Astronaut Elected to US Senate ![Former NASA astronaut and US Navy veteran Mark Kelly, a Democrat, beat incumbent Martha McSally (R-AR) for a seat on the US senate.]() *\Image: Gage Skidmore\* ## Raising Arizona Former NASA astronaut and US Navy veteran Mark Kelly, a Democrat, beat incumbent Martha McSally (R-AR) for a seat in the US Senate during this yesterday's election. If you're keeping score, that [makes him the fourth astronaut]() to be elected to Congress. "I’m confident that when all the votes are counted, we’re going to be successful in this mission," Kelly told supporters after declaring his victory. "The work starts now." ## Shuttle Veteran Kelly was selected to pilot NASA's Space Shuttle in 1996 and has spent over 54 days in space. He commanded several Space Shuttle missions, including the final mission of the Endeavour in 2011. The former astronaut called the creation of the Space Force "a dumb idea" in 2018 and has questioned NASA's ambitions to return to the Moon, claiming that "we should just go straight to Mars," as [quoted by *The Daily Beast*](). "Forget about the Moon. We've been there. We've already done that." ## Big Money Kelly's wife, former House Representative Gabby Giffords, resigned from Congress in 2012 after a failed assassination attempt. Since then, Kelly and Giffords have started an organization to promote solutions to gun violence and responsible gun ownership. He also supports building out the Affordable Care Act and devising new public health insurance options. Kelly has also pledged to refuse donations from political action committees (PACs). "Our state doesn't need a Democrat senator or a Republican senator," Kelly said this morning. "We need an Arizona senator. There is nothing we can't achieve if we work together." **READ MORE:** [Mark Kelly unseats Republican Martha McSally in Arizona Senate race]() \[*Axios*\] **More on the election:** *[Trump Tells Crowd He’ll Fire Fauci If He Wins the Election]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()