Successfully Breaking The Record, NASA Astronauts Express The Challenge Of Sustaining In Space

JAKARTA - Astronaut Frank Rubio reportedly broke the record for astronauts with the longest single flight in space from the United States.

As an astronaut from the United States Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA), Rubio has managed to spend more than 355 days at the International Space Station (ISS).

Thanks to this long time, Rubio beat NASA Astronaut Mark Vande Hei's previous record in 2022.

Rubio himself is expected to break the record for up to 371 days, making him an astronaut from the United States (US) with the longest mission of more than a year at the International Space Station (ISS).

In a chat with NASA Senior Management quoted from space, Rubio admitted that this record-breaking was highly unexpected.

The reason is, Rubio spent a lot of time on the ISS due to constraints on the Russian Soyuz rocket that he and his partner were traveling on. The rocket is thought to have leaked due to a small meteorite.

Despite being too focused on his work in space, Rubio admits that one year in space has had extraordinary challenges, especially psychologically.

Even though in the next six months it was a challenge, I'm so grateful that the agency said, "Hey, you know what's safe to do is shoot a new spacecraft, wait and make sure it's a safer (airplane) return," Rubio said.

Rubio and his two colleagues are set to return to earth on September 27 if there are no problems with their departure.