<Li> Michael López - Alegría </Li> <Ul> <Li> Russia </Li> <Li> United States </Li> </Ul> <P> NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman when she surpassed Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti's 199 days, 16 hours during Expedition 52 in 2017 . She returned to Earth in September 2017, having spent 289 days, 5 hours and 1 minute in space . In third place is American astronaut Sunita Williams with 195 days on the ISS, where she was a member of Expedition 14 / Expedition 15 (2006--2007). </P> <P> An international partnership consisting of Russia, the United States, Canada, Japan and the member states of the European Space Agency have jointly maintained a continuous human presence in space since 31 October 2000, when Soyuz TM - 31 was launched . Two days later it docked with the International Space Station . Since then space has been continuously occupied for 17 years, 258 days . </P>

Who is the woman astronaut who holds the world record of staying in the space for the longest time