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Astronaut craves salsa and surf after record 11 months aloft:
After nearly 11 months in orbit, the astronaut holding the record for the longest spaceflight by a woman can't wait to dig into some salsa and chips, and swim and surf in the Gulf of Mexico.
NASA astronaut Christina Koch told The Associated Press on Tuesday—her 319th consecutive day in space—that taking part in the first all-female spacewalk was the highlight of her mission. She's been living on the International Space Station since March and returns to Earth on Feb. 6, landing in Kazakhstan with two colleagues aboard a Russian capsule.
Koch said she and fellow astronaut Jessica Meir appreciated that the Oct. 18 spacewalk "could serve as an inspiration for future space explorers."
"We both drew a lot of inspiration from seeing people that were reflections of ourselves as we were growing up and developing our dreams to become astronauts," Koch told The Associated Press from the space station. "So to recognize that maybe we could pay that forward and serve the same for those that are up and coming was just such a highlight."
[...] Koch's 328-day mission will be the second-longest by an American, trailing Scott Kelly's flight by 12 days. She's already set a record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman.
She took time out for a pair of news interviews Tuesday, the 34th anniversary of the space shuttle Challenger accident that claimed all seven lives on board.
She said she loves her work—she conducted five spacewalks and tended to science experiments—but she also misses her friends and family.
[...] Her biggest surprise is how easily and quickly she adapted both mentally and physically to weightlessness.
"I don't even really realize that I'm floating any more," she said.
Why do chips and salsa top her most-missed food list? Crunchy food like chips are banned on the space station because the crumbs could float away and clog equipment. "I haven't had chips in about 10 1/2 months," she explained, "but I have had a fresh apple" thanks to regular cargo deliveries.
Anyone want to take a crack at figuring out how far she has traveled while on the ISS?
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 29 2020, @05:12PM (4 children)
She was not alone. Maybe she even made an amateur space porno.
NASA sent Anne McClain, a lesbian who committed the first known crime in space, so it could have gotten weird.
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Wednesday January 29 2020, @06:04PM (2 children)
Huh. Hadn't heard about this.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 29 2020, @08:00PM (1 child)
Was that teacher who die on Challenger. Her partner has been keeping her memory alive in the years since, but as far as I know only 'outed' her as a lesbian many years post humously. It was far too much of a risk do even consider it back in the 80s.
(Score: 1) by purdy on Wednesday January 29 2020, @10:06PM
Christa McAuliffe, who died on board Challenger, was not LGBT. Sally Ride, the first female American astronaut, came out when she died in 2012. She was the first (known) LGBT astronauts of any nation as well as the youngest American astronaut at the age of 32.
She (Ride) was married to a male astronaut at the time she was active in the program. The Apple TV show "For All Mankind" copied this idea for an lesbian astronaut in their show.
(Score: 5, Funny) by VLM on Wednesday January 29 2020, @07:38PM
Despite making up only 4% of the USA population, lesbians commit 100% of space crimes.
Very triggering.