FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 24, 2017
COALITION FOR DEEP SPACE EXPLORATION CONGRATULATES ASTRONAUT PEGGY WHITSON ON RECORD-BREAKING TIME SPENT IN SPACE
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Coalition for Deep Space Exploration Executive Director, Dr. Mary Lynne Dittmar, congratulates NASA Astronaut Dr. Peggy Whitson on breaking the record for cumulative time spent in space by an astronaut today: “On behalf of the Coalition for Deep Space Exploration, I want to congratulate Astronaut Peggy Whitson on breaking the record for the longest cumulative time spent in space earlier today, surpassing the previous record of just over 534 days. Dr. Whitson continues to demonstrate America’s leadership in space through her record-breaking career at NASA on multiple missions, including her current extended mission on the International Space Station (ISS).
Through the work done by Dr. Whitson and her colleagues on the station, we are learning and demonstrating how astronauts will live and work in space on long duration exploration missions that are planned by NASA in the years ahead. “As Dr. Whitson noted in her call with President Trump this morning, the ISS is providing a bridge from our operations in low Earth orbit into Deep Space, as NASA prepares to return astronauts to lunar orbit and on to Mars on its next generation exploration rocket, the Space Launch System, and crew spacecraft Orion.”