Mamas, can you imagine? Three hundred and twenty-eight days in space; 5,248 orbits around Earth; six spacewalks and 42 hours and 15 minutes working outside the International Space Station.

Those are the record-breaking numbers of astronaut Christina Koch’s recent mission aboard the ISS. After nearly a year off-planet, Koch returned to Earth a little after 4 a.m. Thursday morning.

Christina’s time in space broke astronaut Peggy Whitson’s record of 288 days. And, Koch’s mission is also the second-longest spaceflight by an American astronaut. Scott Kelly holds that record at 340 days.

Last month, Koch told the Associated Press that she can’t wait to dig into some chips and salsa and swim and surf in the Gulf of Mexico. She also said taking part in the first all-women spacewalk with Jessica Meir was the highlight of her mission.

Koch, ISS Commander Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency and Soyuz commander Alexander Skvortsov of Roscosmos will leave the ISS in a Soyuz spacecraft. The three are set to land in Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan.

NASA began live coverage of the return to planet procedures around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday when the ISS had a change of command ceremony. Parmitano handed over command to Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos.

Around 9 p.m. Wednesday, the crew leaving and those still on the ISS, had a final farewell as the Soyuz hatch closed. The Soyuz undocking happened around 12:15 a.m. Thursday. The deorbit burn occurred after 3 a.m. with a parachute-assisted landing around 4:13 a.m.

For all our little girls, what an inspiration!

Lauren Wiatrek
Lauren Wiatrek is a native Austinite that after moving to New York and Colorado, decided her heart was in the center of Texas. Her husband, Evan helped build their family of daughters in a home they love. After battling stage 3 breast cancer in 2017 Lauren has become a strong voice for wellness, health advocacy, and her faith. Lauren loves to travel every chance she can get. Lauren enjoys extra hot coffee on the porch, her F45 workouts, Young Living lifestyle, being all things as a #girlmom and helping empower women. Lauren started her journey with cancer on her blog www.bestillandsmile.com you can also follow her on her Instagram: @lauren.wiatrek for motherhood tips and her wellness journey after cancer.

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