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Astronaut Sunita Williams is set to achieve a remarkable milestone with her return from space mission, spending over 270 days aboard the space station.
Sunita Williams aboard the International Space Station (ISS) | Image/NASA
Travelling and living on a space station, like the International Space Station (ISS), may seem like an incredible experience, but it comes with many challenges that make life far from easy.
NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, who recently completed nine months at the International Space Station with fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore and is set to return to Earth next week, recently revealed the hardest part of being stranded in space.
For Williams and Wilmore, whose eight-day mission extended to over 270-day stay in space, the most challenging part of spending time in the space station wasn’t gravity or other experiences, but the uncertainty over the timeline of their return to Earth.
The duo, currently stuck on the ISS, will return aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, set to launch next week with a relief crew. They were sent by NASA to conduct scientific research, perform spacewalks, and contribute to station maintenance.
In the history of space exploration, many astronauts have endured the challenge of extended missions aboard space stations. Here’s a look at some of them:
- Valeri Polyakov – 437 Days
Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov holds the record for the longest single spaceflight, spending 437 days aboard the Mir space station from January 1994 to March 1995.
NASA astronaut Frank Rubio completed a 371-day mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS), setting the record for the longest single spaceflight by a US astronaut.
- Mark Vande Hei – 355 Days
NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei spent 355 consecutive days on the ISS, contributing to research on long-duration space missions.
Scott Kelly’s 340-day mission aboard the ISS provided valuable data on the effects of prolonged spaceflight on the human body.
- Christina Koch – 328 Days
NASA astronaut Christina Koch holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, with a 328-day mission on the ISS from March 2019 to February 2020.
Williams Set To Make Record
Meanwhile, Williams is set to achieve a remarkable milestone with her return from space mission, spending over 270 days aboard the space station.
She departed for the ISS aboard Boeing’s Starliner on June 5, 2024, for what was planned as an eight-day mission. However, the spacecraft encountered multiple technical issues on the way, leading NASA to deem it unsafe for the crew’s return.
In September, Starliner returned to Earth without its astronauts, leaving them stranded on the station. Now, NASA has planned their safe return on Elon Musk’s SpaceX, aboard its Crew-9 return flight, according to reports.
