Christina Koch, an American NASA astronaut, completed the longest-ever spaceflight done by a woman. Koch spent 328 days on the International Space Station (ISS) according to BBC News.
Koch beat the previous record held by Peggy Whitson, which was set at 289 days in December 2019. Whitson however holds the record for most time spent in space by a woman, which was garnered over three spaceflights over the period 2002-2017.
She travelled back to earth in the Russian Soyuz spacecraft which parachuted down to Kazakhstan at 9:12 GMT (Greenwhich Mean Time Zone). Scott Kelly holds the all-time US record which was set over 2015-2016 at 340 days.
‘I’m so overwhelmed and happy right now,’ said Koch to reporters who were at the scene where her capsule landed.
In a statement Koch said: ‘For me, it was important to see people that I saw a reflection of myself in, growing up, when I was envisioning what I could do with my life and what my dreams might be. To maybe be that source of inspiration for someone else is just such an honour.’
What will I miss? The exquisite beauty of both the planet Earth and this marvel that its amazing people created. pic.twitter.com/VWIFXuJMTp
— Christina H Koch (@Astro_Christina) February 5, 2020
A record-setting mission,
the longest single spaceflight by a woman,
328 days in space.@Astro_Christina was up for the challenge! Join us in saying #CongratsChristina and get to know the inspiring astronaut who returned to Earth this morning: https://t.co/32LxOrJW9g pic.twitter.com/4iAFIoglYx
— NASA (@NASA) February 6, 2020
Image: Twitter
