Cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko sets new record for most time in space

Could you imagine spending nearly two and a half years in space?

Well, that's exactly what one Russian cosmonaut has achieved.

Oleg Kononenko has just set a new world record for the total time in space - more than 878 days - and he isn't done yet!

Kononenko is currently on board the International Space Station where he is expected to stay until the autumn, which would take his total time spent outside the Earth's atmosphere to more than 1,100 days!

Kononenko said he dreamed of going to space as a child and enrolled at an engineering institute, before undergoing cosmonaut training.

His took his first space flight sixteen years ago, in 2008.

"I fly into space to do my favourite thing, not to set records," Kononenko told the TASS Russian state news agency.

Kononenko is currently on board the International Space Station (ISS), where he is orbiting around 260 miles from Earth.

His current trip to space is scheduled to end in late September - by which time he will have reach a total of 1,110 days in space.

Kononenko broke the previous record set by fellow cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, who clocked up a total of 878 days, 11 hours, 29 minutes and 48 seconds in space.

Astronauts and cosmonauts effectively do the same job, but the difference in their job titles is mainly down to who trains them.

Astronauts are people trained and certified by Nasa (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), ESA (European Space Agency), CSA (Canadian Space Agency), or Jaxa (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) to carry out professional work in space.

Cosmonauts on the other hand are people specifically trained by the Russian Space Agency to work in space.

The requirements for becoming either an astronaut or cosmonaut are a little bit different as each country has its own guidelines which they follow. However, the jobs are pretty much the same!