Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, who is the current commander of the crew on board the International Space Station (ISS), has broken the record for staying in the space for the longest time with 804 days.

As per reports, the former Russian Air Force officer has beaten the old record of 803 days, nine hours and 41 minutes, which was set by fellow cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, who has retired from work, across six missions from 1998 to 2005.

A spokesman for the Russian federal space agency Roscosmos said that this record is official and Gennady Padalka has spent the longest time in space.

In 1989, the space walker began his career and for the first time, he attended training at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Russia. He also attended basic space training from June 1989 to January 1991 and qualified as a test-cosmonaut in 1991.

Cosmonaut Yury Baturin, who travelled with Padalka on board Soyuz TM-28 in 1998 to the Mir space station, said, "It's not so much the hardships of working with other crew members, but rather that you're cut off from your family, from your home, and for a very long time. Gennady is a real professional. He loves his work".

He added that when someone loves his work, time is not really a condition, so he is able to tackle psychological challenges through his work. Padalka has worked for both International Space Station (ISS) and Mir (Russian Space Station). So far, he has taken part in nine space walks.