Record-breaking [9 months+] U.S. astronaut and crew back on Earth

NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson and two crewmates made a parachute touchdown in Kazakhstan on Saturday, capping a career-total 665 days in orbit, a U.S. record.Whitson, 57, ended an extended stay of more than nine months aboard the International Space Station, a $100 billion research laboratory that flies about 250 miles (400 km) above Earth.

”I feel great,” the biochemist said during an inflight interview on Monday. “I love working up here. It’s one of the most gratifying jobs I’ve ever had.”During her third mission aboard the station, Whitson spent much of her time on experiments, including studies of cancerous lung tissue and bone cells.

She also completed four spacewalks, adding to her six previous outings, to set a record for the most time spent spacewalking by a woman.Two crewmates who launched with Whitson in November returned to Earth three months ago.

She stayed aboard to fill a vacancy after Russia scaled down its station staff from three to two cosmonauts.Whitson returned to Earth with Jack Fischer, also with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, who had been aboard the station since June.

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