Newsmaker: The significance of Christina Koch’s space journey
The American astronaut is back on Earth after 328 days, having set a record for the longest single space flight by a woman
Everyone tosses and turns after getting into bed. Finding the perfect position for a good night’s sleep can be tricky. It is almost impossible for Christina Koch. She returned to Earth after spending 328 days on the international space station (ISS), setting the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman.
“How will I sleep when I return to Earth? Will I sleep on my stomach, my back, my side? Will the firmness of the mattress matter more-so than it ever has before? And what about sleeping next to someone in a bed? I’ve been floating in a bag by myself for 327 nights. Hopefully, my husband doesn’t kick me to the couch!” she said.
“Sleep in space has been some of the most restful I’ve ever had – no hotspots, no tossing, no turning, never too hot or too cold. I just float in my body’s natural position,” Koch told NASA from the ISS, anticipating her return.
And it is not just the bed she had to get used to.
She had to get used to watching just one sunrise and sunset a day instead of the 16 she experienced daily while zipping around the Earth every 90 minutes at 17,500 miles per hour.
Once on Earth, she had to re-learn how to walk. “I think the most physically shocking readjustment was the balance. On Earth, we rely on our eyes and inner ear to maintain stability. On orbit, without gravity pulling down, the mind quickly stops listening to the inner ear. The eyes take over … we rely solely on visual cues.” She was part of the first all-woman spacewalk in October last year.
In space, she missed a fork and knife; eating steak or pasta out of the packet with a spoon and sometimes injecting coconut oil into her coffee just to mix things up. Taking a real hot shower with the water running off her fingertips was a sensation she had forgotten. For eleven months she had been using a re-hydrated towel containing soap, a no-rinse shampoo, and a towel to “dry off” with. “When the water hits your skin in orbit, it just sits there.”
Despite these challenges, when NASA extended Koch’s mission shortly after she was launched to space on March 14, 2019, she said it was “awesome”.
The 41-year-old is outdoorsy and likes backpacking, rock climbing, paddling, surfing, running, and living in outer space. Had it not been for her parents, her husband, and her LBD or ‘Little Brown Dog’ called Sadie Lou, she would have liked to stay in space. “If my friends and loved ones could visit here, I would probably stay here forever,” Koch said in an #AskNasa segment from the ISS.
Staying in orbit has its perks too. How many photography-enthusiasts can really say that they have captured the contrails and the halo created during the second stage burn of a rocket?
Koch is an electrical engineer and started her career in NASAs lab for high energy astrophysics, where she contributed to scientific instruments for several of the US space agency’s missions. She has also worked in several remote scientific bases including in research stations at the South Pole, Greenland, Alaska and Samoa. She was selected to train as an astronaut in 2013.
“Most kids probably dream of becoming an astronaut. I was just the one that never grew out of it,” Koch said in an interview from the ISS.
While on ISS, she conducted several microgravity experiments. She did some botany studies to understand the role of gravity on plant biology and grew Mizuna mustard greens. She worked on a set of experiments to study the behaviour of fire in space. She also worked on kidney cells investigating innovative treatments for kidney stones, osteoporosis, and toxic chemical exposure.
But the biggest science experiment was perhaps herself. With NASA planning to take another go at lunar landing and deep-space exploration missions to Mars, it becomes crucial to understand how the human body would react to prolonged stay in space.
A study on twins done by NASA showed that when one of the brothers, astronaut Scott Kelly, returned from his 340-day mission in 2016 he was two inches taller, there were mutation in his DNA, and his gut microbiome had changed. An extended stay in space can also cause farsightedness and swelling of the optic nerve.
Koch and her other colleagues who have stayed in ISS for extended periods will help broaden NASA’s understanding on the effect gravitation fields, space radiation, and distance from Earth on humans. It also answers questions about the effects of isolation, being in a confined space and consuming a diet high in freeze-dried food.
Though many male astronauts have her beat when it comes to the time spent in space, she would provide an understanding of whether the effects on women are any different.
Despite all this, when asked in an interview on CBS whether she saw herself as a trailblazer, she replied, “Sometimes I joke that having the longest record for time spent up there is not about defying the laws of physics. I didn’t necessarily have a ride back home I could have hopped on.
