Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko has become the person to complete the longest space mission to date, having spent 878 days in space. The Russian Space Agency Roscosmos announced that Kononenko broke this record as of 8:30 AM Greenwich Mean Time on Sunday.
The number of days Kononenko has spent in space is projected to reach one thousand days on June 5. By the end of September, he will have spent a total of 1,110 days in space.
"MY GOAL IS NOT TO BREAK RECORDS"
In a statement given from the International Space Station (ISS), 423 kilometers above Earth, to the Russian TASS news agency, Kononenko said, "I go to space to do my favorite thing, not to set records."
The cosmonaut added, "I am proud of all my achievements, but I am even more proud that the record for the longest duration in space is still held by a Russian cosmonaut."
Roscosmos announced that 59-year-old Kononenko surpassed Gennady Padalka's record with a total of 878 days, 11 hours, 29 minutes, and 48 seconds.
News Source: 12punto
