The longest time spent in space by a woman was previously recorded at 288 days by Peggy Whitson in 2016-17. Now female astronaut Christina Koch is all set to break the record for the longest spaceflight by a woman. The forty year old will be spending 328 days in space to help study the effects of long term spaceflights on the human body.

Christina has been on board the ISS since March 2019 and will continue to be there till February 2020, if all goes to plan. NASA is gearing up for it’s foray to Mars and is collecting scientific data on the effects on being in space for longer periods of time than the standard four months that most astronauts usually spend on the ISS.

This has led to longer in space time for certain astronauts to help study the potential issues that may crop up during the long flight to Mars and back. While the ISS is merely orbiting about 200 miles above the Earth, the conditions on board the space craft traveling to Mars are likely to be pretty much the same. This science project is taking planning ahead to a whole new level!