Currently onboard the International Space Station, ISS Expedition 51 Commander Peggy Whitson of the United States is on track to break the American record of total cumulative days spent in space. Monday, April 24th is when she is expected to surpass Jeff William's 534-day record. This is not Peggy's only record-shattering achievement. She is the first woman to command the International Space Station twice, and in March of this year she surpassed Sunita Williams by completing the most spacewalks (eight) as a female.
Next Monday (24th) at 10:00 A.M. EDT, a congratulatory phone call by NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, President Donald J. Trump, and 1st Daughter Ivanka Trump will be given to Peggy. This call will be broadcasted live on NASA's Facebook page and website (NASA.gov/live) ↗. In light of this historic happening, the Dept. of Education, NASA, and the White House are teaming up to publicize this event in hopes that children in classrooms can watch and be inspired by astronautics, STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, and math), and courageous astronauts such as Peggy Whitson.
— Original press release from NASA (↗)
By the way: on the first day of March in 2016, Scott Kelly earned the distinction of being the record-holding American in space for the longest continuous time — 340 consecutive days. In 1994 and 1995, Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov stayed in space for almost 437 days.
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