Astronaut breaks US space record, gets call from Trump

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida - Astronaut Peggy Whitson broke the United States record on Monday for most time in space and talked up Mars during a congratulatory call from President Donald Trump.

The International Space Station's commander surpassed the record of 534 days, two hours and 48 minutes for most accumulated time in space by an US citizen.

"This is a very special day in the glorious history of American spaceflight," Trump said. His daughter and close adviser, Ivanka Trump, also offered congratulations to Whitson from the Oval Office.