NASA astronaut Christina Koch returned to Earth safely on Thursday after breaking the spaceflight record for female astronauts with a stay of almost 11 months aboard the International Space Station.
She returned along with European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov. Their Soyuz spacecraft landed in Kazakhstan.
Her 328-day space mission broke the record for the longest continuous stay in space by a woman, which was previously held by NASA’s Peggy Whitson. The six-month mission was launched into orbit last March, and was extended after she was already aboard the station.
During the mission, she completed six spacewalks, including another two with fellow NASA astronaut Jessica Meir. She spent 42 hours and 15 minutes outside of the station.
Scott Kelly holds the record for a NASA astronaut, who spent 340 days at the ISS before he returned home in 2016.
“Back on Earth I anticipate looking up and seeing the space station streak across the sky, wondering how my friends and colleagues are doing up there without me. For almost 20 years humans have continuously lived and worked in space and the mission continues”, Koch said.
NASA astronaut Koch returns to Earth after record-breaking space mission
EPA-EFE/NASA HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES
A handout photo made available by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shows US astronaut Christina Koch during a spacewalk on 15 January 2020. NASA astronaut Christina Koch is set to return to Earth on 06 February 2020 after 328 days living and working aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Her mission is the longest single spaceflight by any woman, which is helping scientists gather data for future missions to the Moon and Mars.
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