The world's oldest and most experienced spacewoman is getting three extra months in orbit.
NASA announced on Wednesday that astronaut Peggy Whitson will remain on the International Space Station until September.
The 57-year-old astronaut arrived last November and was supposed to return to Earth in June. But under an agreement between NASA and the Russian Space Agency, she'll stay another three months and take advantage of an empty seat on a Soyuz capsule in the fall.
This mission - her third - will now last close to 10 months. Scientists are eager to monitor any changes to her body, to add to the knowledge gained from retired astronaut Scott Kelly's recent one-year flight.
Whitson has already spent more time in space than any other woman, counting all her missions, and just last week set a record for the most spacewalks by a woman, with eight.
This weekend, she'll take over as space station commander, her second time at the job.
And on April 24, she'll set a new US record for most accumulated time in space. That NASA record - 534 days - is currently held by former space station resident Jeffrey Williams.
