Livingston native conducts longest female space flight
Christina Koch, 40, an electrical engineer from Livingston in the Paradise Valley, made history on Dec. 28 when she completed 289 consecutive days in spaceflight—the longest-ever by a woman. That impressive figure is overshadowed by her total scheduled spaceflight mission time—328 days—before she is expected to return to Earth. The figure is just shy of 340 days, the longest completed by any U.S. citizen, a distinction set in 2016 and still held by astronaut Scott Kelly. Koch’s mission is designed to help NASA scientists understand the effects of extended spaceflight on the body, invaluable data in preparations for sending a human(s) to Mars. Koch first made history back in October when she participated in the first-ever all-female spacewalk.
