NASA Astronaut, Frank Rubio, is set to break a historical record for the longest stay in space by a member of the agency. In September, when Rubio returns to Earth, he will have spent 371 consecutive days in space, surpassing the previous record of 340 days held by Scott Kelly. Rubio’s journey was not originally planned to break this record, as he is currently on the International Space Station (ISS) due to logistical delays in his return. This has earned him the title of “the astronaut stranded in space.”
While Rubio’s record is limited to NASA members, the global record for the longest stay in space is held by Valeri Poliakov from the Roscosmos agency, who spent 437 days in space in the mid-90s. The person with the most days spent away from Earth, not consecutively, is Peggy Winston of NASA, with a total of 675 days.
Frank Rubio, born in Los Angeles to Salvadoran parents, is a helicopter pilot in the US Army and a flight surgeon. He was selected as a member of NASA Astronaut Group 22 in 2017 and embarked on his mission to the ISS on September 21, 2022, alongside Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin. Rubio’s focus during his time in space is studying methods to generate food reserves for future expeditions to the Moon and Mars.
Rubio’s record-breaking achievement brings attention not only to the Hispanic representation in outer space but also highlights NASA’s plans for human space exploration in the coming decade.