JAKARTA - NASA astronaut Christina Koch has succeeded in setting a new record, namely a female astronaut from the United States (US) who has lived the second longest time in space with 328 consecutive days or for 11 months. Koch settled on the International Space Station (ISS).
"I am very overwhelmed and happy now," said Koch as quoted by The Guardian, Sunday, February 9.
In first place is still occupied by Scott Kelley, who spent 340 days in space, previously occupied by Peggy Whitson with a record 289 days in space.
Together with fellow European astronaut Luca Parmitano and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, Koch rode the Soyuz which landed on Earth in the Dzhezkazgan prairie, Kazakhstan at around 09:12 GMT.
NASA noted that Koch has passed 5,248 Earth orbits, with a total distance traveled of about 139 million miles, the equivalent of a round trip to the Moon from Earth. In this regard, Koch also set a new record for how far the spacecraft can orbit.
"For me, it's all about the honor I feel to follow in the footsteps of my hero. It's important to see people where I see my reflection, grow, as I imagine what I can do with my life and dreams," said Koch. .
"Maybe it can be a source of inspiration for others, is an honor," he continued.
#CongratsChristina on completing your first journey into space! 🚀 Longest single spaceflight in history by a woman👩🚀 Second-longest single spaceflight by a US astronaut🛰️ Seventh on the list of American space travelers for total time in spaceMore: https: // t.co/5PZlABW2Rq pic.twitter.com/zSpiikSUuT
- NASA (@NASA) February 6, 2020
Spending a lot of time outside the station, Koch has completed six spacecraft trips, including a record that first involved fellow NASA training colleague Jessica Meir last October.
"It's great to be in a place where you can hop between the rafters and floor of the boat, whenever you want," says Koch, who misses feeling microgravity.
Christina Koch's Expedition on the ISS
Furthermore, Christina Koch and Jessica Meir went on a women-only space trip. The two spent 42 hours and 15 minutes outside the ISS replacing a failed power control unit.
Earlier, Koch said that his spacecraft would help NASA better understand the long-term effects of the spacecraft, as NASA aims to fly astronauts back to the Moon by 2024.
Koch also spent his time on various experiments and investigations. The space station is used as a laboratory that can be used to test various aspects of everyday human life on Earth with a lack of gravity.
As CNN also reported, Not only Koch, astronauts are also working on other scientific activities. Sometimes, they are test subjects, who contribute to research on human health in outer space. Other times, they work with scientists on Earth to test their experiments.
It should be noted, Koch and other astronauts are also researching the impact of spaceflight, namely the lack of gravity in space causes bone and muscle loss in humans, so Koch is focused on helping to prevent that from happening.
The 41-year-old woman is also investigating where she crystallizes a protein that is a drug to block cancer and tumor growth by utilizing micro-forces. While similar experiments were also carried out on Earth and failed.
Koch's research on plant biology also involved. He studied how plants grow in space. Like the Mizuna mustard aquatic plants grown on the ISS. It is intended that in the future astronauts can get more fresh food for future space travel.
Others, various studies also aim to understand how fire reacts and behaves in space. The insights gained include how to prevent fires on spacecraft, as well as to use fuel efficiently and reduce pollution on Earth.
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