An astronaut that was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, has returned safely to Earth after her record breaking mission.

According to WOOD, the woman who spent nearly 11 months in orbit on the International Space Station has returned after setting the record for the longest spaceflight by a female.

NASA astronaut Christina Koch made a safe landing Thursday in Kazakhstan with two other Space Station crew members.

Koch spent 328 days orbiting the earth. Researchers will study Koch in order to learn the effects of long duration spaceflight on a woman. This is all part of the research into sending someone to Mars in the future.

When Koch climbed out of the capsule she had a big smile on her face and held two thumbs up to those who were there to greet her. She returned with to Russians and officials say all three astronauts are in good shape.

Koch, who was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, grew up in Jacksonville, North Carolina. She now resides in Galveston, Texas with her husband.

While in space Koch, along with astronaut Jessica Meir were part of the very first all women spacewalk that happened on October 18.

Koch will now fly from Kazakhstan to Cologne, Germany then after meeting with space officials will return home to Houston.

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