Koch first arrived at the International Space Station on March 14 and plans to remain in orbit until February 2020. If completed, it will be the longest single spaceflight by a woman, surpassing the record of 288 days set by Peggy Whitson in 2016-17.
Koch will also be just 12 days shy of the longest single spaceflight by a NASA astronaut, 340 days, which was set by Scott Kelly during his one-year mission in 2015-16.
In July, NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan will be joining Koch at the space station where scientists will gather additional data about the effects of long-duration human spaceflight. This research will support future deep space expeditions to the moon and Mars.