A 59-year-old Russian cosmonaut, Oleg Kononenko, has made history by becoming the first person to spend over 1,000 days in space. Announced by the Russian space agency Roscosmos on Wednesday, Kononenko achieved this milestone on Tuesday during his fifth mission to the International Space Station (ISS), which began on September 15, 2023.
Launching alongside NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara and compatriot Nikolai Chub, Kononenko surpassed the previous record of 878 days set by Gennady Padalka in 2015. If his current mission concludes as planned on September 23, 2024, Kononenko will have spent a total of 1,110 days orbiting Earth!
\"There's this awareness that you have achieved something new and important, that you've overcome a certain milestone, touched the unknown,\" Kononenko shared with Russian state news agency TASS. \"It gives you confidence, and pride in the work you've done.\"
He also mentioned that his American colleagues on the ISS were among the first to congratulate him on his remarkable achievement. Despite geopolitical tensions following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the ISS remains a symbol of international cooperation. Roscosmos confirmed that its cross-flight program with NASA, which transports astronauts to the ISS, has been extended until 2025.
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