Christina Koch Selected as First Woman Astronaut for NASA's Artemis II Lunar Mission
Christina Koch has been selected as part of the Artemis II mission, making her the first woman to fly to the Moon. Scheduled for February 2024, the mission will test the Orion capsule and Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, involving a 10-day journey that includes a trajectory behind the Moon.
Koch, a NASA astronaut since 2013, has previously spent 328 days in space, including missions on the International Space Station (ISS), and participated in the first all-female spacewalks. Before her astronaut career, she worked as an electrical engineer at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, contributing to various scientific spacecraft.
Her background includes experience in Antarctica and the Arctic, and she has also worked with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Koch's training included a year at the ISS and she was a member of the 21st NASA astronaut class.
