Engineer and NASA astronaut Christina Koch returned to Earth on Thursday after spending just under a year off the planet, securing a record of the longest single spaceflight by a woman.

Koch, who graduated with NASA's class of 2013, spent 328 days in space, during which she completed six spacewalks and conducted agricultural and microgravity crystal growth.

Lengthy stays in space also help contribute to scientific understanding of the effect of zero gravity on human physiology.

Koch beat the previous female record of 288 straight days in space, though she fell just twelve days shy of the ultimate record of 340 days, held by Scott Kelly.