NASA astronaut Christina Koch returned to Earth on Thursday, 6th February, after spending 328 days in space. This is the longest ever spaceflight by a woman.
She landed in Kazakhstan along with two other astronauts from the European and Russian space agencies, breaking the previous record of her mentor, Whitson.
This mission was also Koch’s first journey into space.
Moments after touching down, Koch said:
I am so overwhelmed and happy right now.
Earlier, she also created history in October 2019 by being a part of an all-women spacewalk along with her counterpart Jessica Meir. During her 11 months in orbit, Koch successfully conducted six spacewalks.
Videos and pictures of her landing soon went viral on social media and netizens are congratulating the astronaut for her record-breaking achievements.
During her stay in space, Koch contributed in multiple experiments, repair projects on the ISS and scientific studies. Her contributions will forever be remembered in space research.