For the first time in more than 50 years, humans are preparing to travel near the Moon again. NASA’s Artemis II mission will send four astronauts on a journey around the Moon, marking a major step toward landing humans there once more.
The mission is part of NASA’s Artemis programme, launched during US President Donald Trump’s first term. Artemis II will not land on the lunar surface, but it is a critical test flight to check the spacecraft, systems and flight path needed for future Moon landings. Among the crew is Christina Koch, who is set to become the first woman to fly around the Moon.
Who is Christina Koch?
Christina Hammock Koch, pronounced “Cook”, is an American astronaut and engineer who was selected by NASA in 2013. She is currently training for Artemis II, where she will serve as Mission Specialist I.
Over the years, she has built a strong reputation through her work in space and in some of the most extreme environments on Earth.
Record-breaking time in space
Koch previously spent nearly a year aboard the International Space Station, working as a flight engineer on Expeditions 59, 60 and 61. She holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, spending 328 consecutive days in space.
During that mission, she took part in the first all-female spacewalks and completed six spacewalks in total, spending more than 42 hours outside the spacecraft.
Her work in space included supporting upgrades to the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer using robotics, growing protein crystals for medical research, and testing 3D biological printing in microgravity. She travelled to and from the space station aboard Russian Soyuz spacecraft after training in Russia.
Early life and personal interests
Koch was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and grew up in Jacksonville, North Carolina. At the time of her selection as an astronaut, she was living in Livingston, Montana.
She has often spoken about how spending summers on her family’s farm helped build her interest in hard work and taking on challenges. Outside her professional life, she enjoys surfing, rock and ice climbing, running, yoga, backpacking, photography, woodworking, travelling and community service.
Education and academic background
She studied at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, where she earned bachelor’s degrees in electrical engineering and physics, as well as a master’s degree in electrical engineering. She also studied abroad at the University of Ghana.
Koch attended the North Carolina School of Science and Math and White Oak High School. She later received an honorary PhD from North Carolina State University.
Career before becoming an astronaut
Before joining NASA as an astronaut, Koch worked across engineering and scientific field roles. She began her career as an electrical engineer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, contributing to instruments on several space science missions.
She later joined the United States Antarctic Program as a research associate, spending a full year in Antarctica, including a winter at the South Pole. During this time, she also served on firefighting and search and rescue teams.
She returned to space science work at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, contributing to missions such as Juno and the Van Allen Probes. Her career also included fieldwork in remote locations in Antarctica and Greenland.
Koch later worked with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, serving in Alaska and as Station Chief at the American Samoa Observatory. Alongside her technical work, she has also been involved in teaching, mentoring and outreach.
Her journey at NASA
Koch first joined NASA through the NASA Academy programme in 2001 and later worked as an engineer before being selected as an astronaut in 2013.
After completing her training in 2015, she was assigned her first space mission in 2018. Following her return, she held leadership roles within NASA, including serving as Branch Chief of the Assigned Crew Branch and working on technical integration at the Johnson Space Center.
Awards and recognition
Her achievements have earned her several honours, including the Neil Armstrong Award of Excellence, the Astronautics Engineer Award, and the Global ATHENA Leadership Award. She has also received multiple NASA Group Achievement Awards and the Antarctic Service Medal with Winter-Over distinction.