We join the rest of humankind in celebrating the records of Christina Koch, an American engineer who returned from space this month, one of two “very brave, brilliant women” who represent the Land of Liberty.
The other in the pair is the saxophonist Jessica Meir, another NASA astronaut, marine biologist and physiologist, who did with Ms. Koch the first female spacewalk in October, prompting the White House to lob a call to the two astronauts.
Dr. Meir expressed succinctly, while speaking to President Donald Trump, the hope “that we can provide an inspiration to everybody, not only women, but to everybody that has a dream, that has a big dream, and who is willing to work hard…”
Trump, overwhelmed with pride, described the two women astronauts as “both very brave, brilliant women, and you represent this country so well, we are very proud of you…”
Koch has since returned to Earth, and has crossed a doorsill for women in space. She has completed three all-female spacewalks and set a record for time in space—for which man, who made one small step in that giant leap for mankind nearly 41 years ago, will be eternally grateful for.
While Ms. Koch is credited for having performed six spacewalks during her mission, set a duration record for a single time in space and contributed exceedingly to space science, many suggest—and we are persuaded to join them—that October 2019 spacewalk will be what gets her into history books.
With her recent return to Earth, she now holds another distinction: the longest stay by a female astronaut in space: 328 days.
The current American record-holder for the longest single stay—342 days—is Scott Joseph Kelly, a retired US Navy captain and a veteran of four space flights who, with Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Komiyenko, in November 2012, was selected for a year-long mission to the International Space Station.
The record holder—665 days—for cumulative time, spread over three flights, is Peggy Annette Whitson, an American biochemistry researcher, retired NASA astronaut, and former NASA chief astronaut.
The respective strokes of these women, while not as loudly heralded as we would want it, make for man quite a giant leap for womankind. We join in the celebration.
