NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, who returned to Earth after breaking the record for the longest solo spaceflight in history by an American, will participate in a news conference at 2 p.m. EDT on Friday, October 13, at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. .
The press conference will be broadcast live on NASA TV, the NASA app and the agency’s website. Watch online at:
Rubio’s extended mission aboard the International Space Station resulted in him spending 371 days in space. Extended missions provide researchers the opportunity to better observe the effects of long-duration spaceflight on astronauts, as the agency returns to the moon with Artemis missions and prepares for human exploration of Mars.
Media interested in participating in person should contact the NASA Johnson Newsroom no later than 5 p.m. on Thursday, October 12, by calling 281-483-5111 or emailing: [email protected]. Media wishing to participate virtually must contact the newsroom no later than two hours before the start of the event. NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online. Questions can also be asked on social media using #AskNASA.
Rubio launched on September 21, 2022, along with Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergei Prokopyev and Dmitry Petlin. The trio returned to Earth on September 27. This 371-day mission is the longest solo spaceflight by an American astronaut, a record previously set by NASA astronaut Mark Vandy He at 355 days.
Rubio completed nearly 5,936 orbits of the Earth and a journey of more than 157 million miles during his maiden spaceflight, roughly equivalent to 328 trips to the moon and back. It witnessed the arrival and departure of 15 visiting spacecraft, including manned and cargo missions.
During his record-breaking mission, Rubio spent long hours contributing to scientific activities aboard the orbiting laboratory, conducting everything from human health studies to plant research. One study evaluated driving multiple autonomous robots from space and what challenges there might be for remotely operating robots from orbit to Earth. He also tended to space tomatoes out to test hydroponic (water-based) and aerobic (air-based) growing techniques rather than soil or other traditional growing methods to help determine methods for producing crops on a larger scale for future space missions.
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Follow news about the International Space Station, its research and its crew on:
https://www.nasa.gov/station
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Laura Bleicher/Julian Coulter
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
[email protected] / [email protected]
Courtney Beasley
Johnson Space Center in Houston
281-483-5111
[email protected]
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