Russian cosmonaut’s new record for most days in space: ‘I’m here to do my favorite thing, not to make a record’
Can you think of spending about two and a half years in space? It’s a unique idea in itself, but a Russian astronaut has done it.
Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko has set a new world record by spending more than 878 days in space so far and his record continues to improve as he is still in space.
Oleg Kononenko is currently aboard the International Space Station (ISS). They are said to be living there until the fall of this year, bringing the total time spent outside the Earth’s atmosphere to more than 1,100 days.
How did Kononenko make this record?
Kononenko said he had dreamed of going to space since childhood and when he grew up, he enrolled in an engineering institute and then trained in astronautics.
He first entered space 16 years ago in 2008, and the current trip to space is his fifth space trip.
“I fly in space to do my favorite thing, not to set records,” Kononenko told Russian state news agency TASS. ‘
Kononenko is currently aboard the International Space Station and the station is orbiting about 260 miles from Earth.
His current space journey is scheduled to end at the end of September and by then he will have spent a total of 1,110 days in space.
Kononenko, 59, broke the previous record set by fellow astronaut Ganedi Padalka. He spent a total of 878 days, 11 hours, 29 minutes and 48 seconds in space.
“I had dreamed of becoming an astronaut since childhood and that’s what I wanted,” he told The Tass news agency. The interest of flying in space, the interest of living and the opportunity to work in orbit all encourage me to continue flying. ‘
Kononenko could become the first person to spend 1,000 days in space
He will complete his 1,000 days in space on June 5 this year, becoming the first person to achieve this feat.
Living in space is not an easy task. So when asked if he felt lonely there, he said he did not feel “deprived or isolated” because he could video call his relatives and exercise regularly.
However, he said it was difficult for him not to see his children in front of his eyes.
“It is only when I return home that I realise that in my absence, the children grew up without their father for hundreds of days,” he said. No one can give me that time back. ‘
In 2020, astronaut Scott Kelly told the BBC why and how he managed to live a year on the International Space Station. Four years after his retirement from NASA, if anyone asks him if he is ready to go back to space, his answer is yes.
Staff change on the ISS is one of many features of everyday life on earth: video calls, sanitation and difficult working days, all of which are included. But on every occasion, astronauts sitting inside their comfortable vessel in space have a sense of what a difficult environment they are living in.
How difficult and different
Since 2007, Kelly has made three separate visits to the Earth’s orbiting post. But his last flight between 2015 and 2016 earned him worldwide acclaim.
But Kelly’s fame is also due to her twin brother Mark, who was an astronaut at NASA.
“The work we do is extraordinary and dangerous,” he said four years ago. ‘
When it was suggested that one of the identical twin brothers would be sent into orbit for a year-long stay on the ISS, scientists had a unique opportunity to study the effects of space on the human body.
By using Mark as a genetic ‘control’ on Earth, scientists believed that all the changes they were seeing in Scott were due to the space environment. The twins underwent several tests for possible changes in their physiology, cognitive ability and DNA.
Among other things, the results revealed genetic changes that suggested Scott’s DNA was recovering on its own due to damage caused by cosmic radiation.
The scientists also noticed unexpected changes in caps at the ends of Scott’s chromosome, known as telomeres, as well as changes in his blood chemistry, body components and gut flora. But most of these changes returned to their state after they returned to Earth.
Four years later, he says: “I don’t have any symptoms now because of the time spent in space, but there have been some structural and physical changes in my eyes, but they have not affected my vision.” ‘