---
title: "NASA astronaut Koch returns to Earth after record space mission"
description: "Feb 6 (Reuters) - A capsule carrying a crew of three from the International Space Station, including record-setting United States astronaut Christina Koch, landed in Kazakhstan on Thursday, a live feed by Russian space agency Roscosmos showed."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Newsdeck"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-02-06-nasa-astronaut-koch-returns-to-earth-after-record-space-mission/"
published: "2020-02-06T12:41:24"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 84
---

# NASA astronaut Koch returns to Earth after record space mission

> Feb 6 (Reuters) - A capsule carrying a crew of three from the International Space Station, including record-setting United States astronaut Christina Koch, landed in Kazakhstan on Thursday, a live feed by Russian space agency Roscosmos showed.

By Reuters · Published 6 February 2020, 14:41 SAST

## Content

[Media](about:blank)

The touchdown on a snow-covered steppe also marked the return to earth of Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano and Russia's Alexander Skvortsov.

Koch's 328-day space mission broke the record for the longest continuous stay in space by a woman, previously held by NASA's Peggy Whitson.

Launched into orbit last March, Koch's mission was extended in April from its original span of six months to nearly a year after she was already aboard the station. (Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Toby Chopra and John Stonestreet)