A female astronaut is due to set the record for longest spaceflight by a woman, NASA said.
Astronaut Christina Koch, who was a part of a spacewalk initially intended to be all-female last month, will remain in orbit on board the International Space Station until February.
While the typical stay in space for astronauts is six months, Koch will spend 328 days in space to study the effects of long spaceflights on the human body.
Koch (COKE) said she is “privileged” to be contributing her best to the field with ten months remaining of the study.