Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore return to Earth: Which astronauts have spent the longest time in space?

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore have safely returned to Earth after an unexpected nine-month mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Their journey concluded with a splashdown off the Florida coast, facilitated by a SpaceX Dragon capsule. Originally scheduled for a brief mission of about a week starting on June 5, complications with Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule prolonged their stay significantly, turning their space odyssey into a 286-day mission filled with uncertainties and delays. Despite the extended duration, both astronauts remained productive, contributing to experiments and spacewalks aboard the ISS.

Also Read: SpaceX crew Dragon LIVE: Smiles, thumbs ups and a safe return for NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore 

Despite being in space for nine months, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams won’t break any records regarding the number of days they spent in space. Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are not the only astronauts to have completed months aboard the ISS.

Who has spent the longest time in space?

1. Frank Rubio: Holds the NASA record for the single longest spaceflight at 371 days.
2. Peggy Whitson: Holds the NASA record for the most cumulative days in space at 675 days.
3. Oleg Kononenko (Roscosmos): Holds the world record for the most cumulative time in space, having spent over 1,000 days across multiple missions. ​
4. Scott Kelly: Scott Kelly is famous for spending almost a year aboard the ISS under the One Year Mission. He flew to the ISS twice, with his longest single flight lasting 340 days.
5. Jeff Williams: He was the record holder of cumulative time of 543 days in space until he was surpassed by Whitson
6. Christina Koch: She established a record for the longest solo spaceflight of 328 days by a female astronaut while on board the ISS from March 2019 to February 2020. 
7. Valeri Polyakov: Polyakov holds the world record for the longest single continuous stay in space aboard Russia’s Mir space station from January 1994 to March 1995.

For comparison, Wilmore’s and Williams’ nine consecutive months in space work out to 286 days for this space flight. Throughout their careers, Williams has accumulated a total amount spent 608 days in space while Wilmore has racked up 464 days in space.