Former NASA astronaut Mark Kelly announced today (Feb. 12) that he is running for a seat in the U.S. Senate in Arizona. The special election in 2020 will determine who will take over for the late Sen. John McCain and finish out the last two years of the six-year term.

Kelly, a Democrat, announced his campaign in a video on Twitter in which he spoke about his family, his career and the policy issues that drive him the most, like gun control, affordable health care, job growth and climate change.

My next mission… #FullSpeedAhead #ForArizona pic.twitter.com/5E36z7aztH

— Mark Kelly (@ShuttleCDRKelly) February 12, 2019

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Before he became an astronaut, Kelly was a U.S. Navy captain. From 2001 to 2011, he flew four space shuttle missions. He is also known for his participation in NASA’s twin study with his identical brother, Scott Kelly, who spent nearly a year in space while Mark Kelly served as the “control” back on Earth. The goal of the yearlong study was to examine how long-term spaceflight affects the human body.

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