Christina Koch on breaking record for longest spaceflight by a woman
NASA astronaut Christina Koch spent a record-breaking 328 days in space.
NASA astronaut Christina Koch says that boredom was never a problem during her record-breaking 328-day stint on the International Space Station (ISS).
“I wish I had enough time on there to get bored, but not all,” she told Fox News’ Bill Hemmer on Wednesday during her first live TV interview since returning to Earth on Thursday.
When not busy performing experiments, Koch explained that she “soaked up the unique atmosphere” of the floating space lab by taking pictures and spending time with her crewmates.
“Boredom was not a problem at all,” she said.
NASA ASTRONAUT CHRISTINA KOCH RETURNS SAFELY TO EARTH AFTER 11 MONTH JOURNEY
Koch’s nearly 11 months in orbit set a record for the longest spaceflight by a woman.
U.S. astronaut Christina Koch gestures shortly after the landing of the Russian Soyuz MS-13 space capsule about 80 miles south-east of the Kazakh town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. (Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool Photo via AP)
The mission gave researchers the opportunity to observe the effects of long-duration spaceflight on a woman. The study is important because NASA plans to return to the moon under the Artemis program and prepare for the human exploration of Mars.
NASA ASTRONAUTS MAKE HISTORY WITH FIRST ALL-FEMALE SPACEWALK
Koch told Fox News that seeing Earth from the International Space Station “brought perspective,” adding that she was able to really enjoy the planet’s beauty in sunrises and night passes.
“It helped me see that all humans are inherently the same,” she said.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
In October 2019, Koch and fellow NASA astronaut Jessica Meir made history with the first all-female spacewalk.
The astronauts were just under five hours into their spacewalk to replace a battery charger on the ISS when President Trump called to congratulate them on their “brilliant” achievement.
Fox News’ Chris Ciaccia and the Associated Press contributed to this article.
Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers
Get a daily look at what’s developing in science and technology throughout the world.