When Space Missions Last Longer Than Planned: NASA's Starliner Crew's Surprising Trip.

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams had a long space trip. Their mission was supposed to be quick, but it lasted much longer. They launched in June on Boeing's Starliner for eight days. They ended up spending 286 days in space, which was much longer than planned.

Ken Bowersox from NASA said the extension was very large. He also had a mission that was longer than expected. His mission was extended after the Columbia shuttle broke apart. This event grounded shuttles for a long time.

Frank Rubio's mission doubled because his Soyuz capsule leaked coolant. A new capsule was sent to bring him and his crewmates home. His 371-day trip is the longest by an American. Scott Kelly spent 340 days in space before him.

Valery Polyakov spent 14 ½ months on the Mir station. He wanted to study how the body changes in space. His 437-day flight is still a world record. Christina Koch holds the record for women with 328 days.

Oleg Kononenko was the first to spend over 1,000 days in space. Peggy Whitson is America's most experienced space traveler. Williams became the most experienced female spacewalker because of her long mission. Many people have been to space, but only some are women.