NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who holds the record for maximum time spent in space by any US astronaut, is set to return to Earth on Saturday, completing a 288-day mission at the International Space Station. Whitson’s return will mark the end of her third long-duration stay onboard the space station. In this December 8, 2016 photo made available by NASA, astronaut Peggy Whitson floats through a tangle of cables inside the Columbus module aboard the International Space Station. (AP)She launched on November 17 with 377 days in space already under her belt, and on April 24 broke Jeff Williams’ standing US record of 534 cumulative days in space. Yurchikhin and Fischer, who launched in April, will complete 136 days in space on their return.

Source: Hindustan Times September 02, 2017 07:52 UTC