Russian cosmonauts break record for longest stay on ISS

MOSCOW, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub have set a new record for the longest single mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS), Russia's state space corporation Roscosmos said in a statement on Friday.

Kononenko and Chub broke the previous record for the longest continuous stay in space within the framework of an ISS program, which was set by cosmonauts Sergei Prokopyev, Dmitry Petelin, and NASA astronaut Francisco Rubio. The three set the previous record in September 2023, by spending 370 days, 21 hours, 22 minutes and 16 seconds aboard the ISS.

Kononenko and Chub, who departed for the ISS on Sept. 15, 2023, are expected to return to Earth on the Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft on Sept. 23, 2024, after spending a record 374 days in space. ■