On Wednesday, astronaut Scott Kelly, NASA’s space-endurance champ, made a comeback to bitterly cold Kazakhstan, accompanied by Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko.

On reaching Earth, the astronaut’s first words were: “Ah nothing can match a blast of fresh, frigid air welcoming you back to your planet after being cooped up for roughly a year in space”.

Prior to starting journey for his hometown Houston, Kelly said in a NASA interview that it was “amazing” when he felt the cold air the moment the hatch of Soyuz capsule opened after touchdown.

He said that he doesn’t mean to say that it isn’t fresh on the space station, but mentioned that there was nothing like new cold air getting into the capsule.

Both, 52-year-old Kelly and Kornienko, 55, craved for nature during their 340-day mission at the International Space Station, one of NASA’s dry run for eventual trips to the Red Planet.

Kornienko said that just like Scott, he wanted to see his planet, smell that fresh air, and termed it as an unforgettable feeling.

This was the longest an American astronaut ever stayed in space, though it’s quite normal for Russian cosmonauts. Worldwide record is 438 days, made in the mid-1990s at the Mir space station. In fact, prior to that a pair of Soviet cosmonauts had racked up a 365 days spaceflight.

At a welcoming ceremony, former cosmonaut and Kazak space agency Chief Talgat Musabayev congratulated them, but couldn’t resist mentioning that it was already done 28 years back. President Barack Obama was a member of the chorus of praise pouring in.

On Twitter, Obama wrote, “Welcome back to Earth, @StationCDRKelly! Your year in space is vital to the future of American space travel. Hope gravity isn’t a drag!”