American Astronaut – Christina Koch is on track to become the first woman to travel to the vicinity of the Moon. She studied Astrophysics at the University of Ghana. Koch, is of 47 and is among the four-person crew aboard the Orion spacecraft for NASA’s Artemis-II mission. It lifted off on Wednesday evening from Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a 10-day journey.
Reportedly, it is the 685,000-mile journey, a lunar fly-by, that marks the first time in over 50 years that American astronauts will orbit the moon. In addition to Koch, the mission includes fellow NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover, as well as Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
About Christina Koch
Koch, was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and grew up in Jacksonville, North Carolina. She is no stranger to record-setting NASA missions. She was first selected as a NASA astronaut in 2013.
In December 2019, she set the record for set a record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, spending 328 consecutive days in space, according to NASA. She was also a part of the first all-female spacewalk in October 2019 with Jessica Meir.
As per NASA, Koch subsequently completed two more all-female spacewalks, “totalling 42 hours and 15 minutes.”
American Astronaut, Christina Koch studied Astrophysics at the University of Ghana 🇬🇭.
She is on track to become the first woman to travel to the vicinity of the Moon. pic.twitter.com/Ng0WHoLb5w
— Africa Facts Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) April 5, 2026
More About The Astronaut
The Artemis-II mission specialist previously worked on the International Space Station for the majority of 2019 in Expeditions 59, 60 and 61, NASA states.
Koch’s official bio notes that some of the scientific highlights from her missions include doing robotics for upgrades to the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, growing protein crystals for pharmaceutical research, and testing 3D biological printers in microgravity.
Prior to her Artemis-II assignment, Koch served as branch chief over the Assigned Crew Branch in NASA’s Astronaut Office and did a rotation as Assistant for Technical Integration for the Center Director at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.