NASA astronaut Christina Koch, who led the first all-female spacewalk in 2019 and now holds the record for the longest stay in space by a woman, told reporters on Wednesday that she believes any record should be broken in the name of progress.
Jillian Kitchener has more.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) NASA ASTRONAUT ENGINEER CHRISTINA KOCH SAYING: “Within the first two minutes of being back on earth, I saw more people’s faces than I had seen in a year so that was really exciting.
And it’s just fun to interact with people again.” That may be an understatement, given that American astronaut Christina Koch now holds the record for the most consecutive days in space - 328... A span during which she physically interacted with just a few people - fellow astronauts with whom she shared very close quarters aboard the International Space Station.
Koch returned to earth last Thursday.
And while she was lauded for her feat, she hopes it’s not too long before another woman rockets past her milestone.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) NASA ASTRONAUT ENGINEER CHRISTINA KOCH SAYING: “I’ve always said about any record that you set, that my biggest hope is that it’s exceeded as soon as possible.
That means we’re pushing the boundaries, more people are living up to their dreams and their potential.
So my main message is to anyone who has a dream, is to follow your passions, be true to yourself, do what you love and live the life that you’ve imagined for yourself.” Koch also led the first all-female spacewalk in October with fellow NASA astronaut Jessica Meir, when they stepped out of the space station at the same time.
Her 328-day mission gave insight on how weightlessness and space radiation affect the female body on long missions.
So far, so good.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) NASA ASTRONAUT ENGINEER CHRISTINA KOCH SAYING: “What I have noticed is my balance has taken a little while to get used to so the physical act of walking was something to get used to but I’m feeling great.” The next step for a female astronaut ‘could be’ the moon.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) NASA ASTRONAUT ENGINEER CHRISTINA KOCH SAYING: “So I like to say that I’m just excited that I’ll probably know the first woman and the next man to walk on the surface of the moon.
But any of us would be ready and honored to accept that mission if it were offered to us.” But for the time being, Koch said she is enjoying life back in her hometown of Galveston, Texas, with its earthly luxuries of trips to the beach, munching on chips and salsa, spending time with her pooch… and gravity.