Record-breaking astronaut Peggy Whitson returns to Earth
- Published
Peggy Whitson (left) landed back on Earth with fellow US astronaut Jack Fischer (right) and Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin (centre) on 3 September 2017. They were carrying out scientific investigations on board the International Space Station.
The station’s newest commander, Randy Bresnik, called Peggy an “American space ninja”. So far in her career, she's spent a grand total of 665 days in space - that's longer than any other American or female astronaut! And it's not the only record she's broken...
Peggy is the most experienced female space walker. During her third mission, she increased her number of space walks from eight to ten.
On 18 November 2016, Peggy blasted off to the ISS on board Russia's Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft, becoming the oldest woman to enter space.
Her first mission was back in 2002. Here she is waving goodbye in 2007, ready to embark on her second mission. Peggy became the first woman to command the ISS during this mission.
Peggy says her third mission hurried by. She's now hungry for pizza and can't wait to use a regular flush toilet again!
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