Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko has set a world record for the total time spent in space, surpassing his compatriot Gennady Padalka with over 878 days in orbit, Reuters reports.
Kononenko broke the record while aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and expressed pride in holding the record for the longest human stay in space but emphasized that he flies into space because it’s his favorite thing, not to set records. He is expected to reach 1,000 days in space on June 5, and 1,110 days by late September.
The 59-year-old cosmonaut highlighted the physical challenges of weightlessness and the impact on family life during prolonged absences. He also emphasizes the increasing complexity of space missions as systems and experiments are becoming more complicated.
The ISS is one of the few international projects on which the United States and Russia still cooperate closely.
