VOA科学技术2024--Russian Cosmonaut Sets Record for Time in Space

Russian Cosmonaut Sets Record for Time in Space

　　Russia's space agency Roscosmos says cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko has broken the world record for total time spent in space.

　　Kononenko passed the record Sunday after spending more than 878 days and 12 hours in orbit aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

　　The previous record was set in 2015 by another cosmonaut, Gennady Padalka, who spent 878 days and 11 and a half hours in space.

　　The 59-year-old Kononenko has so far made five trips to the ISS. The first one came in 2008.

　　Kononenko told Russia's state-supported news agency, TASS, that each trip he took to the ISS required careful preparation. This is because the orbiting space lab is always getting upgrades².

　　Kononenko said his repeated space trips represent the realization³ of a childhood dream to become a cosmonaut. "I fly into space to do what I love, not to set records," he told TASS.

　　He added that his continued interest in living and working in orbit "motivates" him to keep flying.

　　Kononenko's current trip to the ISS began on Sept. 15, 2023. He arrived along with American astronaut Loral O'Hara and cosmonaut Nikolai Chub.

　　Kononenko's service on the ISS is continuing. He is expected to reach a total of 1,000 days in space on June 5. His current flight is expected to end in late September. By then, he will have spent at least 1,110 days in space.

　　Kononenko said he worked out often aboard the ISS to help him deal with the physical effects of weightlessness.

　　He added that he realizes the social effects of his long stays on the ISS when he returns back to Earth.

　　"It is only upon returning home that the realization comes that, for hundreds of days in my absence, the children have been growing up without a papa," Kononenko said. "No one will return this time to me."

　　Kononenko noted⁴ that cosmonauts are now able to use video calls and messaging to stay in better touch with their family.

　　He said one of the most difficult things about being a cosmonaut is getting ready for each new space flight. "The profession of a cosmonaut is becoming more complicated," Kononenko said. "The systems and experiments are becoming more complicated."

　　The ISS is one of only a few areas where the United States and Russia still closely cooperate after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

　　Roscosmos announced in December that its program with the American space agency NASA to transport astronauts to the ISS had been extended until 2025.

　　Words in This Story

　　upgrade¹ – v. to improve the quality or usefulness of something

　　realization – n. the process of noticing or understanding something that you did not notice or understand before

　　motivate – v. to make someone want to do something

　　absence – n. not being in a particular place

　　complicated – adj. complex or difficult to understand

1 upgrade   

vt.提高，加强，改善；n.提高，改善

参考例句：

• We need to upgrade the status of teachers.我们需要提升老师的地位。
• To upgrade a clerk to manager.将办事员提升为经理。

2 upgrades   

提升( upgrade的第三人称单数 )； 使（机器、计算机系统等）升级； 提高（设施、服务等的）档次； 提高（飞机乘客、旅馆住客等）的待遇

参考例句：

• Freight trains travel slowly on upgrades into the hills. 火车徐徐向山上驶去。
• This support protocol upgrades all aircraft in a couple of important ways. 这项支援协议对所有的空军单位在很多重要方面上提供了升级。

3 realization   

n.实现；认识到，深刻了解

参考例句：

• We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
• He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。