Moscow (EFE).- Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko today became the first man to spend 1,000 days in space, aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
Kononenko, 59, set the new mark at 21:00:20 GMT after five trips to the orbiting base.
The Russians’ long stay on the ISS will allow scientists to learn more about its physiological effects on the body, such as muscle atrophy, loss of bone mass, vision impairment and loss of balance.
Kononenko, a man of record
Kononenko, who turns 60 in two weeks, is the record holder and on February 4, he already became the longest-traveled cosmonaut in space with 878 days, 11 hours, 29 minutes and 48 seconds. Then Kunnadi Patalka conducted.
The Russian, who arrived in Soyuz MS-24 in September 2023, will add 1,110 days — nearly three years — when he returns to Earth on September 23.
In total, Kononenko, who was born in the former Soviet republic of Turkmenistan, has completed five missions to the ISS (2008, 2011, 2015, 2018 and 2023).
The next ten astronauts on the list are either retired or dead, making Kononenko’s mark almost unbeatable today.
The majority were Russians or born in the former Soviet Union, except for American Peggy Whitson, who ranked ninth with 675 days, a huge feat if one considers that NASA has always restricted women’s stays on the EEI. Increased risk of developing cancer.
The next active astronaut is Russian Sergei Prokofiev with 567 days. However, it will be difficult for him to boost his personal brand as the Russian space agency Roscosmos has announced that it will abandon the ISS in the coming years to focus on building a new Russian space station.
As for the record for continuous stay in space, it is held by another Russian, Valery Polyakov, who spent 437 days uninterrupted aboard the Russian MIR station between 1994 and 1999.
