Montana-Connected Astronaut Returns From Space

Check out the photo above. That is the photo from February 6th, 2020 as NASA astronaut Christina Koch lands back on Earth following the longest spaceflight ever conducted by a woman. It's also a cool feather in the hat for the state of Montana, as Christina Koch has some Montana connections.

Here's the description provided by Getty Images:

In this handout image supplied by NASA, NASA astronaut Christina Koch is helped out of the Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft just minutes after she, Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, and ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano, landed their Soyuz MS-13 capsule in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, on February 6, 2020 in Kazakhstan. Koch returned to Earth after logging 328 days in space --- the longest spaceflight in history by a woman --- as a member of Expeditions 59-60-61 on the International Space Station. Skvortsov and Parmitano returned after 201 days in space where they served as Expedition 60-61 crew members onboard the station.

Fox News noted some additional details about the mission after the successful landing:

Koch, 41, spent 328 days on the International Space Station, giving researchers the opportunity to observe the effects of long-duration spaceflight on a woman. The study will have long-lasting effects since NASA has made it clear that it intends to return to the Moon with its Artemis program, which includes a female astronaut landing on the lunar surface.

Joining Koch in the Soyuz capsule, according to the Associated Press, was station Commander Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov. They touched down on Thursday afternoon.

Koch lives in Livingston, Montana and while aboard the International Space Station did a video chat with local high school students. Welcome home Christina and crew.