After nearly 11 months in orbit, the astronaut holding the record for the longest spaceflight by a woman can’t wait to dig into some salsa and chips, and swim and surf in the Gulf of Mexico.
NASA astronaut Christina Koch told The Associated Press on Tuesday — her 319th consecutive day in space — that taking part in the first all-female spacewalk was the highlight of her mission. She’s been living on the International Space Station since March and returns to Earth on Feb. 6, landing in Kazakhstan with two colleagues aboard a Russian capsule.
Koch said she and fellow NASA astronaut Jessica Meir appreciated that the Oct. 18 spacewalk “could serve as an inspiration for future space explorers.”
“We both drew a lot of inspiration from seeing people that were reflections of ourselves as we were growing up and developing our dreams to become astronauts,” Koch said from the space station. “So to recognize that maybe we could pay that forward and serve the same for those that are up and coming was just such a highlight.”
Koch’s astronaut class of 2013 was split equally between women and men, but NASA’s astronaut corps as a whole is male dominated. Right now, four men and two women are living at the space station.
“Diversity is important, and I think it is something worth fighting for,” said Koch, an electrical engineer who also has a physics degree.
Koch’s 328-day mission will be the second-longest by an American, trailing Scott Kelly’s flight by 12 days. She’s already set a record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman.
She took time out for a pair of news interviews Tuesday, the 34th anniversary of the space shuttle Challenger accident that claimed all seven lives on board.
She said she loves her work — she conducted six spacewalks and tended to science experiments — but she also misses her friends and family.
“If they could visit here, I would continue staying for a very long time,” said Koch, a first-time space flier. “For their sake, I think that it’s probably time to head home.”
Why do chips and salsa top her most-missed food list? Crunchy food like chips are banned on the space station because the crumbs could float away and clog equipment. “I haven’t had chips in about 10 1/2 months,” she explained, “but I have had a fresh apple” thanks to regular cargo deliveries.
