(Photo : Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images)

Making history isn't new to NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, but her latest record is undeniably impressive: the most cumulative time in space by an American astronaut. The 57-year old Whitson, who is the only woman to serve as a station commander twice, is in the middle of her third long-duration stint on the International Space Station. Whitson broke the NASA cumulative record set last year by astronaut Jeffrey Williams; Scott Kelly holds the U.S. record for consecutive days in space — 340. "That's an incredible record to break," Trump said, congratulating Whitson as he spoke from his desk in the Oval Office, where he was seated alongside his daughter Ivanka and NASA astronaut Kate Rubins. She is currently on a mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and by the time she comes back down to Earth, she will have logged in a total of 650 days in space. When she returns to Earth, she will have spent more than 650 days in space throughout her groundbreaking career.
Peggy Whitson, commander of the International Space Station (ISS), breaks the record for most total days spent in space by any NASA astronaut, at more than 534 days.