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Tech2 News StaffApril 29, 2019 09:59:27 IST
Christina Koch is expected to set a record for NASA's longest space mission by a woman when she finishes her 11-month stay on the International Space Station (ISS). She will break the record of astronaut Peggy Whitson (288 days). It is intended to stay in orbit until February 2020.
"It's an honor to follow in Peggy's footsteps," Koch said, quoted by NASA. She arrived on board the space station on March 14 to begin research activities with the crew of Expedition 59.
Astronaut Koch in uniform. Image: NASA
Men and women react differently in space. The 11-month period of Koch is intended to help researchers to study the effects of long-duration spaceflight on a woman. Koch 's planned stay is on the eve of the longest space flight of NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, who had spent 340 days on board during his one – year mission in 2015-2016.
All the data currently available to NASA is for male astronauts, as they have spent as much time as possible in space. This study becomes imperative as Koch's mission is in preparation for NASA's human mission on the Moon or Mars.
"Christina's extended mission will provide additional data to NASA's human research agenda and will continue to support future missions on the Moon and Mars," said Jennifer Fogarty, chief scientist of the human research program at Johnson Space Center. from NASA in Houston, United States.
This news comes at a time when an outing in the space reserved for women had to be canceled on March 29 due to insufficient number of wetsuits. The two astronauts wore average size. However, only one suit was available. After violent reactions, NASA issued a statement that it had more than one combination on board, but that she just did not have time to resize it before the ride.
We saw your tweets about the availability of the space suit for the release in Friday's space. To clarify, we have more of a medium-sized space suit torso on board, but to stay on time with @Space station upgrades, it is safer and faster to change Spacewalker's assignments than to reconfigure space combinations. pic.twitter.com/tPisBHaF2p
– NASA (@NASA) March 26, 2019
Last month, NASA accepted the Donald Trump administration's challenge to send humans back to the moon by 2024, four years earlier than the US space agency's goal.
Jim Bridenstine, NASA Administrator, said, "This time, when we go to the moon, we will stay. We will then use what we have learned on the Moon to take the next giant leap – sending astronauts to Mars. "
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