Christina Koch, the first woman to complete the longest spaceflight

On February 6, 2020, at 4:12 a.m. EST in Kazakhstan, NASA astronaut Christina Koch, Soyuz Commander Alexander Skvortsov of Roscosmos and Luca Parmitano of ESA landed safely on Earth.

This was the first journey to space for Christina Koch and she spent 328-day in space setting a record throughout history. Hence, she became the first-ever woman to complete the longest single spaceflight in history.

Christina left the International Space Station along with two more astronauts in their Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft at 12:50 a.m. After that, they made a successful landing in Kazakhstan, southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan at 4:12 a.m.

.@Astro_Christina completes a record 328-day mission in space returning to Earth with @Astro_Luca and Alexander Skvortsov both of whom completed 201 days in space. Read more… https://t.co/9L8Zb7hFrt pic.twitter.com/MMwoCj1QaP

— Intl. Space Station (@Space_Station) February 6, 2020

During her 328-day mission in space, Christina orbited Earth 5,248 times resulting in a journey of 139 million miles. This journey is roughly equivalent to 291 trips to the Moon and back, according to NASA’s report. She reportedly stayed with her four fellow NASA astronauts and classmates at the ISS.

A step forward

NASA also reveals Christina’s accomplishments during this time. Apparently, she conducted and supported more than 210 investigations during Expeditions 59, 60, and 61. Additionally, she volunteered as a research subject to provide scientists the opportunity to observe the effects of long-duration spaceflight on a woman. NASA also is hopeful that her research will help them in their Artemis project for the Moon and human exploration of Mars.

Vertebral Strength investigation is one of the most important research projects that Christina carried in space. This research detects the injury risks for vertebral fracture following long-duration spaceflight.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) hopes to conduct future researches based on the result of the Vertebral Strength investigation. Their report suggests the development of future countermeasures and the provision of recommendations for future flights.

Thumbs up and a huge smile from @Astro_Christina! 😊👍

Her first spaceflight became a 328-day mission with 5,248 orbits of Earth, a journey of 139 million miles, roughly the equivalent of 291 trips to the Moon & back. #CongratsChristina & welcome home: https://t.co/8MFSftrUyR pic.twitter.com/zlmY2yYJDe

— NASA (@NASA) February 6, 2020

NASA has congratulated Christina via Twitter for achieving such accomplishment as the first woman in history. A tweet from International Space Station also sends her wishes for completing her fabulous journey. Christina herself tweeted that she is going to miss “the exquisite beauty of both the planet Earth and this marvel that its amazing people created”.

We offer our hearty congratulations to Christina and the astronauts who made it safely to Earth. Kudos to Christina on achieving so much during her journey. Her name will surely go down in history and will be remembered forever.