The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is bringing the space age into the mobile era as astronaut Scott Kelly recounts firsthand his return from the International Space Station via a Live Story on Snapchat. 

The excitement surrounding astronaut Kelly's return is being heightened with the NASA Snapchat story, in which users were able to follow his trip home and the events to follow. Videos and images from his perspective, as well as other employees at different posts for NASA, are giving fans an inside look into what goes on at the administration.

"With Live Story in Snapchat consumers are able to see more of a story simply by swiping up on the short video, when NASA uses snapchat to record an interesting event users are able to choose to see just the short but then if they want more they now have the ability to view more of the event," said Marci Troutman, CEO of SiteMinis. "This gives NASA the ability to tell a story in short videos that users can pass through quickly and gain more insight."

The Return to Earth story opens with a title graphic and a message from astronaut Kelly introducing himself and saying ?as you know, NASA is all about exploration and discovery.? The next video clip shows the astronaut saying goodbye to his fellow colleagues on the Space Station before returning to Earth. 

Astronaut Kelly made history by completing a the longest mission in space out of any U.S. astronaut. NASA will be monitoring astronaut Kelly and the effects of living in space so long have caused. 

Snapchat developed various graphics with text informing viewers on a number of tidbits surrounding the event. For instance one graphic had texting reading ?NASA astronaut Scott Kelly is returning to Earth after a 340-day mission on the International Space Station,? another explained ?the goal of the mission is to understand the effects of the human body from space? and an illustration of Kelly saying welcome home was also featured. 

Viewers were also taken into the control room while astronaut Kelly exited the space station and multitude of content featured him landing in Kazakhstan, as well as speeches and events from his flight landing in Houston. 

Unilever?s Axe?s Find Your Magic campaign also leveraged Snapchat through the Men?s Fashion Week Live Story, targeting younger consumers likely to be interested in celebrating individuality (see more).

Retailer Lane Bryant also sponsored a Sports Illustrated?s Live Story on Snapchat to take advantage of the viral sensation following the announcement that a plus-size model had been chosen for the highly anticipated swimsuit edition (see more).

"NASA can raise awareness of what is happening real time in video shorts through Snapchat that users can go through quickly simply by building story lines through the app allowing their viewers to gain better insight into their world," Ms. Troutman said. "Video is a much more powerful way to show the world what is happening real time on any given event and can have a much more lasting appeal to users."