Photos: NASA astronaut Christina Koch returns to Earth
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Christina Koch Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov gestures as he sit in a chair shortly after the landing of the Russian Soyuz MS-13 space capsule about 150 km ( 80 miles) south-east of the Kazakh town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. A Soyuz space capsule with U.S. astronaut Christina Koch, Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, returning from a mission to the International Space Station landed safely on Thursday on the steppes of Kazakhstan. (Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool Photo via AP) (Sergei Ilnitsky /AP)
Christina Koch Russian space agency rescue team help U.S. astronaut Christina Koch from the capsule shortly after the landing of the Russian Soyuz MS-13 space capsule about 150 km ( 80 miles) south-east of the Kazakh town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. A Soyuz space capsule with U.S. astronaut Christina Koch, Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, returned from the International Space Station, landing safely on the steppes of Kazakhstan. Koch set a record for the longest spaceflight by a woman on the International Space Station (ISS). (Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool Photo via AP) (Sergei Ilnitsky /AP)
Christina Koch Two locals on horseback arrive as the Russian Soyuz MS-13 space capsule landed about 150 km ( 80 miles) south-east of the Kazakh town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. The space capsule with NASA astronaut Christina Koch, Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, returning from a mission to the International Space Station landed safely in Kazakhstan. Koch wrapped up a 328-day mission on her first flight into space, providing researchers the opportunity to observe effects of long-duration spaceflight on a woman as the agency plans to return to the Moon under the Artemis program. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP) (NASA/Bill Ingalls/AP)
Christina Koch U.S. astronaut Christina Koch reacts shortly after the landing of the Russian Soyuz MS-13 space capsule about 150 km ( 80 miles) south-east of the Kazakh town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. A Soyuz space capsule with U.S. astronaut Christina Koch, Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, returning from a mission to the International Space Station landed safely on Thursday on the steppes of Kazakhstan. Koch wrapped up a 328-day mission on her first flight into space, providing researchers the opportunity to observe effects of long-duration spaceflight on a woman as the agency plans to return to the Moon under the Artemis program. (Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool Photo via AP) (Sergei Ilnitsky /AP)
Christina Koch U.S. astronaut Christina Koch, left, Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano, right, and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov sit in chairs shortly after the landing of the Russian Soyuz MS-13 space capsule about 150 km ( 80 miles) south-east of the Kazakh town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. A Soyuz space capsule with U.S. astronaut Christina Koch, Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, returning from a mission to the International Space Station landed safely on Thursday on the steppes of Kazakhstan. Koch set a record for the longest spaceflight by a woman on the International Space Station (ISS). (Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool Photo via AP) (Sergei Ilnitsky /AP)
Christina Koch Russian space agency rescue team help Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov out from the capsule shortly after the landing of the Russian Soyuz MS-13 space capsule about 150 km ( 80 miles) south-east of the Kazakh town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. A Soyuz space capsule with U.S. astronaut Christina Koch, Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, returning from a mission to the International Space Station landed safely on Thursday on the steppes of Kazakhstan. (Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool Photo via AP) (Sergei Ilnitsky/AP)
Christina Koch NASA astronaut Christina Koch is helped out of the Russian Soyuz MS-13 space capsule about 150 km ( 80 miles) south-east of the Kazakh town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. The Soyuz space capsule with Koch, Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, returning from a mission to the International Space Station landed safely in Kazakhstan. Koch wrapped up a 328-day mission on her first flight into space, providing researchers the opportunity to observe effects of long-duration spaceflight on a woman as the agency plans to return to the Moon under the Artemis program. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP) (NASA/Bill Ingalls/AP)
Christina Koch U.S. astronaut Christina Koch gestures shortly after the landing of the Russian Soyuz MS-13 space capsule about 150 km ( 80 miles) south-east of the Kazakh town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. A Soyuz space capsule with U.S. astronaut Christina Koch, Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, returning from a mission to the International Space Station landed safely on Thursday on the steppes of Kazakhstan. Koch set a record for the longest spaceflight by a woman on the International Space Station (ISS).(Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool Photo via AP) (Sergei Ilnitsky /AP)
Christina Koch Specialists help U.S. astronaut Christina Koch shortly after the landing of the Russian Soyuz MS-13 space capsule about 150 km ( 80 miles) south-east of the Kazakh town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. A Soyuz space capsule with U.S. astronaut Christina Koch, Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, returning from a mission to the International Space Station landed safely on Thursday on the steppes of Kazakhstan. Koch wrapped up a 328-day mission on her first flight into space, providing researchers the opportunity to observe effects of long-duration spaceflight on a woman as the agency plans to return to the Moon under the Artemis program. (Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool Photo via AP) (Sergei Ilnitsky /AP)
Christina Koch NASA astronaut Christina Koch is helped out of the Russian Soyuz MS-13 space capsule about 150 km ( 80 miles) south-east of the Kazakh town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. A Soyuz space capsule with Koch, Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, returning from a mission to the International Space Station landed safely in Kazakhstan. Koch wrapped up a 328-day mission on her first flight into space, providing researchers the opportunity to observe effects of long-duration spaceflight on a woman as the agency plans to return to the Moon under the Artemis program. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP) (NASA/Bill Ingalls/AP)
Christina Koch Russian support personnel work around the Russian Soyuz MS-13 space capsule that landed about 150 km ( 80 miles) south-east of the Kazakh town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. The space capsule with NASA astronaut Christina Koch, Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, returning from a mission to the International Space Station landed safely in Kazakhstan. Koch wrapped up a 328-day mission on her first flight into space, providing researchers the opportunity to observe effects of long-duration spaceflight on a woman as the agency plans to return to the Moon under the Artemis program. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP) (NASA/Bill Ingalls/AP)
Christina Koch A Russian Soyuz MS-13 space capsule descends about 150 km (90 miles) south-east of the Kazakh town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. A Soyuz space capsule with U.S. astronaut Christina Koch, Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, returning from a mission to the International Space Station landed safely on Thursday on the steppes of Kazakhstan. Koch set a record for the longest spaceflight by a woman on the International Space Station (ISS).(Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool Photo via AP) (Sergei Ilnitsky /AP)
Christina Koch The Russian Soyuz MS-13 space capsule lands about 150 km ( 80 miles) south-east of the Kazakh town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. The space capsule with NASA astronaut Christina Koch, Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, returning from a mission to the International Space Station landed safely in Kazakhstan. Koch wrapped up a 328-day mission on her first flight into space, providing researchers the opportunity to observe effects of long-duration spaceflight on a woman as the agency plans to return to the Moon under the Artemis program. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP) (NASA/Bill Ingalls/AP)
