NASA astronaut Christina Koch set a new record for the longest spaceflight by a woman on Saturday, when she broke former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson’s record of 288 days.
Christina, who is expected to return on February 2020, was originally supposed to be on a six-month mission at the International Space Station. However, as per NDTV, NASA extended her stay partly to collect more data about the effects of long-duration spaceflight.
Once she returns, she would have spent over 300 days in space. At 340 days, former astronaut Scott Kelly currently holds the record for the longest spaceflight by a NASA astronaut.