The NASA astronaut will beat the current record holder Peggy Whitson, who spent 289 days in space between 2016 and 2017. Christina Koch reached her 200-day milestone on Wednesday, October 2, but will still spend more than 100 days on the International Space Station (ISS) before returning home. Ms Koch joined the ISS as part of the Expedition 59 and 60 crew in 2018. But her work onboard the space station was extended through to Expedition 61, allowing her to establish a new record of 328 days on the ISS.
The astronaut will kick off Expedition 61 this Sunday, October 6, with a spacewalk alongside fellow American Andrew Morgan.
The US astronauts are tasked with installing new batteries outside of the ISS.
NASA said: “The International Space Station is gearing up for a record pace of spacewalks this year.
“The Expedition 61 spacewalkers will upgrade the orbiting lab’s power systems and repair a cosmic particles detector.”
WATCH LIVE: NASA’s 24H International Space Station live stream
What are the records for longest spaceflights?
Due to the tense rivalry of the Space Race at the height of the Cold War, all of the spaceflight records are split between the US and Russia.
The longest spaceflight record is held by Russian cosmonaut Valery Polyakov, who spent nearly 438 consecutive days in space.
The astronaut’s record was achieved onboard the Mir space station between January 1994 and March 1995.
The Mir space station was the world’s first module spacecraft assembled in orbit between 1986 and 1996.
READ MORE: NASA astronaut snaps INCREDIBLE photos of Earth from ISS
Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka holds another incredible spaceflight record of 879 days in space spread over five missions.
NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson reached a similar record for the US in 2017 – more than 665 days in space over various missions.
At the end of her tenure on the ISS that same year, the astronaut spent 289 consecutive days on the space station.
The record was previously held by Samantha Cristoforetti, who spent 199 consecutive days in spaceflight.
The US record for most consecutive days in space for a man is held by former ISS Commander Scott Kelly.
Commander Kelly spent an incredible 340 days in space between 2015 and 2016.
SEE HERE: NASA shares stunning pictures of Earth from space
Who were the first people to go into space?
Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first man to fly into space on April 12, 1961, on board the Vostok 1.
The Russian was followed shortly after by American astronaut Alan Shepard on May 5, 1961, on board the Freedom 7.
The first woman in space was Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, who flew into space on June 16, 1963.
The first American woman in space did not leave the planet until Sally Ride who flew the Space Shuttle Challenger on June 18, 1983.