US astronaut ends longest spaceflight by a woman

cde.news desk 6 February 2020, 12:15 · 2 min read

NASA astronaut Christina Koch sits in a chair shortly after landing of the Russian Soyuz MS-13 space capsule in a remote area southeast of Zhezkazgan in the Karaganda region of Kazakhstan, 06 February 2020. EPA-EFE/SERGEI ILNITSKY / POOL

American astronaut Christina Koch landed back on Earth on Thursday, marking the end of the longest space mission ever completed by a female astronaut.

The Soyuz MS-13 capsule touched down on the Kazakh desert steppe at 4:12 am ET carrying Koch, 41, European astronaut Luca Parmitano and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov.

Koch spent 328 days on the International Space Station (ISS), breaking a previous spaceflight record for female astronauts held by NASA’s Peggy Whitson. Whitson had spent 289 days aboard the ISS.

Soyuz MS-13 space capsule lands with Expedition 61 in Kazakhstan — (front L-R) NASA astronaut Christina Koch, Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Luca Parmitano sit in chairs shortly after the landing of the Russian Soyuz MS-13 space capsule in a remote area southeast of Zhezkazgan in the Karaganda region of Kazakhstan, 06 February 2020. EPA-EFE/SERGEI ILNITSKY / POOL

The 41-year-old engineer from Michigan also made space history last October when she and fellow astronaut Jessica Meir completed the first-ever all-woman spacewalk.

Koch boarded the space station last March. Her mission, originally scheduled for six months, was extended to nearly a year once she was aboard.

Expedition 61 members return from International Space Station — A handout photo made available by NASA the Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft landing with Expedition 61 crew members Christina Koch of NASA, Alexander Skvortsov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, and Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency), in a remote area near the town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, 06 February 2020. EPA-EFE/NASA/BILL INGALLS HANDOUT

NASA had said that Koch’s long stay would provide valuable information about the long-term effects of space travel on the female body. The US space agency has plans in the works to build a permanent station on the surface of the moon within the next ten years.

Filed under European Space Agency (ESA)NASA Space Women

Topics Christina Koch NASA Space Women

US astronaut ends longest spaceflight by a woman

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