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NASA astronaut Frank Rubio poses for a picture in the International Space Station\u2019s cupola on Oct. 1, 2022.<\/p>\n
Rubio was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2017. He trained as a flight engineer and member of the Expedition 68 crew. Rubio, along with cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin of Roscosmos, launched Sept. 21, 2022, on the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the space station.<\/p>\n
While aboard the orbital laboratory, Rubio and his fellow crew members conducted dozens of scientific investigations and technology demonstrations, including growing tomato plants to study hydroponic and aeroponic techniques, participating in crew health experiments, and studying how materials react in microgravity. Research like this and other activity on the orbital outpost will inform long-duration missions like Artemis and future human expeditions to Mars.<\/p>\n
Rubio spent 371 days in space, surpassing NASA\u2019s single spaceflight record for continuous days in space made by astronaut\u00a0Mark Vande Hei. Rubio and his crewmates landed in Kazakhstan on Sept. 27, 2023. Rubio\u2019s mission is the longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut in history.<\/p>\n