The Russian cosmonaut surpassed Gennady Padalka’s record by spending more than 878 days on the international space station. The cosmonaut will have lived in space for 1,110 days (more than 3 years) when he returns to Earth in September.

The new record holder: Russian cosmonaut “Oleg Kononenko”

Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko spent more than the previous record of 878 days, 11 hours, 29 minutes and 48 seconds on the International Space Station. Kononenko, 59, commander of Roscosmos (the Russian cosmonaut team), said: “I am proud of all my achievements, but I am especially proud that the record for the total human stay in space still belongs to a Russian cosmonaut.”

The Russian cosmonaut’s current space flight is scheduled to end at the end of September and by then he will have spent 1,110 days in space. Kononenko’s career in space began as an engineer and trained as a cosmonaut after joining the group selected for the ISS program. His first space flight took place in 2008 and lasted 200 days.

During his time in space, Kononenko said that video calling and texting kept him in touch, but when he returned to Earth and saw what was left of his family’s life, it was an emotional experience.

Kononenko said in a statement that video calling and texting allowed him to stay in touch, but when he returned to Earth he realized how much of life he had missed. “When I return home, I realize that during the hundreds of days of my absence, children grew up without a father,” he said. “No one is going to give me that time back.”

Kononenko said he exercised regularly to cope with the physical effects in space and said he did not feel the effects of the “insidious” weightlessness. Although the credibility of the space program has been questioned in recent years, the ISS is an important support for the international project, with Washington and Moscow working closely together.