Cristina Koch breaks record for longest spaceflight by a woman
Women scientist Christina Koch of the US space agency NASA on Saturday (December 28) has become the longest-living woman in space after spending 288 days away from Earth. NASA’s astronaut Peggy Winston set a record for 288 days in the International Space Station (ISS) before astronaut Christina during 2016-17. It has been broken by Christina on Saturday (December 28).
According to Space.com, she will return to Earth on February 6, 2020, having spent more than 328 days in space. On March 14, 2019, Christina flew for the ISS as a flight engineer for NASA.
Christina thanked Peggy for helping her successfully stay in space for a long time on Thursday (December 26). She said, Peggy has been my idol. She guided me a lot during my stay in ISS. After returning to Earth, I will also guide astronauts.
The record of the longest (340 days) stay in the ISS is by Scott Kelly, who was in space during 2015-16. American female astronaut Peggy Winston has spent 665 days in space. However, she has spent this time through five different flights.
Christina Koch has done spacewalk four times while on ISS. On October 18, for the first time, Koch had a spacewalk with her fellow astronaut Jessica Mir. Earlier, 15 women scientists had done spacewalk, but each time they were accompanied by male astronauts. Koch and Jessica had a spacewalk without a male partner.
Along with being an astronaut, Christina enjoys yoga, running, mountaineering, boat riding, photography and walking.
