NC astronaut Christina Koch will be part of NASA Artemis II moon mission

Christina Koch, who grew up in Jacksonville, North Carolina, and graduated from N.C. State University, will be part of the first crew of astronauts to travel around the moon in more than 50 years, NASA announced Monday.

Koch will join two other astronauts from the United States and one from Canada on the estimated 10-day Artemis II mission, which will test the Orion spacecraft’s systems to confirm they can perform and operate “as designed with people aboard in the actual environment of deep space,” NASA’s description of the mission states.

The Artemis II mission is estimated to take off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in late 2024.

The mission will not involve astronauts actually landing on the moon, but is considered a test flight that will “pave the way” for the Artemis III mission, which is intended to land the first-ever woman and person of color on the moon. That mission is planned for 2025.

Koch’s involvement in the Artemis II mission will mark the first time a woman has embarked on a lunar mission, but it won’t be the first time the astronaut has made history.

In December 2019, she broke the world record for the longest spaceflight by a woman, going on to spend more than 300 days in orbit. Earlier in 2019, she was part of the first all-female spacewalk, installing a solar power system for the International Space Station with fellow NASA astronaut Jessica Meir.

Koch is originally from Michigan, but grew up in Jacksonville, near the North Carolina coast. She dreamed of becoming an astronaut as a child, gazing up at the night sky through her family’s telescope in their backyard, The News & Observer previously reported. She never grew out of that dream.

“I think the big takeaway for me is not necessarily that I am going, but we are going, NASA is going, the world is going,” Koch told The News & Observer Monday night in an exclusive interview in Houston.

“That we’ve chosen to take this on as a challenge together, go to the moon, go to stay, and take it to Mars, that is what is a privilege to be a part of,” Koch said. “And that, in and of itself, is tough to wrap your head around.”

The announcement generated a flurry of international attention Monday. Koch spoke to The N&O before she and the three other Artemis astronauts were presented to a Houston crowd at NRG Stadium before the NCAA men’s basketball national championship game.

On Sunday, President Joe Biden called to congratulate the astronauts, thanking them for their service and for inspiring people around the country and globe.

At Monday’s announcement, Norm Knight, director of NASA’s flight operations directorate, praised Koch’s dedication and drive.

“With a work ethic and willingness to lend a hand that only someone who spent summers working on a farm growing up can have, your relentless drive is unmatched,” Knight said on stage at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

“You have already made your mark in the remote corners of our planet. You have already been in the history books as a record-setting astronaut. You’re a trailblazer and a role model for every generation to come. You’ve already been advocating and uplifting children in your community, and I know that you are just getting started.”

Who is Christina Koch? Astronaut’s ties to NC

Koch attended White Oak High School in Jacksonville before attending the North Carolina School of Science and Math, a residential, public high school in Durham that is part of the UNC System.

Koch attended college at N.C. State University, receiving bachelor’s degrees in electrical engineering and physics in 2001. She also holds a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the university.

Monday night in Houston, she told The N&O she’s “proud to represent the Wolfpack in whatever way I can.”

Her background in engineering will likely come in handy on the Artemis II mission, Knight of NASA said during Monday’s announcement, as she will be the only professional engineer in the crew.

“I don’t know if I would call it pressure or excitement, but as a true engineer and physics major from N.C. State, I love that stuff,” Koch told The N&O. “I thrive on it. I can’t wait to learn about the systems of this vehicle. It’s going to be fascinating. And the opportunity to get to work on it, to be a part of it, to know it so well, that is super-exciting for an electrical engineer.”

Koch is the first graduate of N.C. State to go to space. She spoke at the university’s virtual commencement ceremony in 2020, where she received an honorary Ph.D.

Koch was selected in 2013 as one of eight members of NASA’s 21st astronaut class, then completed astronaut candidate training in 2015. She was assigned in 2018 to her first space flight, a long duration mission on the International Space Station that launched in March 2019.

On that mission, Koch demonstrated her long-held passion for photography and love for North Carolina when she posted to Twitter a photo of the Outer Banks from space. She also took with her on the mission a small memento representing N.C. State, a printed circuit board with an etching of the wolf mascot wearing an astronaut helmet.

Koch was The News & Observer’s Tar Heel of the Month in August 2019, which honors people who have made significant contributions to North Carolina and the region.

What is Artemis II mission? Koch explains

At Monday’s announcement, each of the four selected astronauts — Koch, plus Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman of NASA, and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency — gave remarks about being selected to the Artemis II mission.

“It is an honor to be here,” Koch said before thanking the astronauts’ families, NASA colleagues and administrators and the “trailblazers” that came before the Artemis II group.

Koch acknowledged that she and fellow astronauts are always asked if they are “excited” before a mission. Then she explained the details of the mission ahead, including where the astronauts will fly:

The mission will begin with the crew launching from Kennedy Space Center, where they will “hear the words ‘go for launch,’ on top of the most powerful rocket NASA’s ever made, the Space Launch System,” Koch said.

The crew will ride that rocket into Earth orbit for eight minutes, and won’t “go to the moon right away,” she said.

“We’re going to stay in an amazing high orbit, reaching a peak of tens of thousands of miles while we test out all the systems on Orion and even see how it maneuvers in space. And then, if everything looks good, we’re heading to the moon.”

Koch said the journey will cover a quarter of a million miles, with the crew going around the far side of the moon before heading home, “going through the Earth’s atmosphere going more than 25,000 miles per hour, and splashing down in the Pacific.”

“So, am I excited?” Koch said. “Absolutely.”

Luke DeCock contributed to this story.

Dream achieved: NC State grad breaks record for longest space flight by a woman

As moon landing anniversary arrives, astronaut Christina Koch makes history of her own