Where Above the World is This Astronaut? Commander Kelly Challenges Twitter to a Unique Game

Do you think you know your geography? Well, astronaut Scott Kelly, who is spending an entire year aboard the International Space Station (ISS), is looking to test your meddle.

Last week, Kelly took to social media, tweeting out the first space-based geography trivia contest. Snapping pictures of our Earth from up high, the ISS Expedition 43/44 flight engineer and Expedition 45/46 commander is challenging his followers to identify what he images with the help of a little historical trivia.

The first person to correctly identify the place depicted in his photos will be sent a copy of the picture signed by Kelly after he returns to Earth in March 2016. Italian resident and amateur astronomer Massimo was the first to guess the correct answer for April 22, but he won't be alone. Kelly plans to issue a new challenge every week, usually on Wednesday. (Scroll to read on...)

But Kelly isn't just snapping pictures for fun. He and Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko will be spending a whole year in space to help experts better understand the effects that prolonged exposure to microgravity can have on the human body. Sent up to the station last March, Kelly has already been spending a great deal of his time capturing a bottomless photo album of geographic locations for scientific analysis of our planet.

"Expanding our geography knowledge is essential to our economic well-being, our relationships with other nations and the environment," Kelly explained in a recent statement. "It helps us make sense of our world and allows us to make connections between people and places. Space exploration is a global endeavor, and the International Space Station is the result of these connections."

So how can you join in on the fun? Simply follow Kelly @StationCDRKelly on Twitter. Reply to his weekly post with the hashtag #spacegeo after your answer. Each Friday, the astronaut will announce that week's winner.

Keep in mind that it's only one prize per person, so if a geographical genius manages to snag the win twice, a runner-up will be declared that second week's winner. You can view the complete contest rules here.

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