Christina Koch, the first woman to walk on the moon. “Do what scares you; don’t shy away from things you think might be unreachable”
Christina Hammock Koch is an American engineer and NASA astronaut who has gained recognition for her achievements in space exploration. Born on January 29, 1979 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Koch had a childhood dream of becoming an astronaut.
It has always been my dream, as long as I know myself; I told my kindergarten teachers and my college teachers that I wanted to be an astronaut.
But until he achieved this goal, Koch’s path was paved with many studies and degrees. He graduated from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in 1997 and earned two bachelor’s degrees in electrical engineering and physics, followed by a master’s degree in electrical engineering from North Carolina State University. Koch also pursued advanced studies at Goddard Space Flight Center through the Academy.
Koch’s career prior to becoming an astronaut involved significant contributions to the development of space science instruments and remote science field engineering. He worked as an electrical engineer at the NASA GSFC High Energy Astrophysics Laboratory for various NASA missions. Additionally, as a research associate with the United States Antarctic Program (USAP), Christina Koch spent time at two different research stations in Antarctica: Amundsen-Scott Station at the South Pole and Palmer Station. The Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is located at the geographic South Pole and is operated by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and NASA. It serves as a center for scientific research, focusing particularly on atmospheric, geological and geophysical studies, with researchers conducting investigations on topics such as climate change, cosmic rays and seismology.
Palmer Station, on the other hand, is located on Antwerp Island, off the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, and serves as a logistical support base for researchers working in the surrounding area. Research conducted at Palmer Station focuses primarily on marine biology, geology, meteorology and glaciology.
Koch also worked at Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory on missions such as Juno and the Van Allen Probes.
Christina Koch joined NASA in 2013 after being selected in the 21st NASA astronaut class. She was a flight engineer on the International Space Station (ISS) on Expeditions 59, 60 and 61 and set a record for the longest spaceflight by a woman, totaling 328 days in space, participating in the first walkout in an exclusively female space. Koch was assigned as a NASA Specialist II, her work including experiments in various fields, such as biology, physics, and technology, aimed at deepening our understanding of space and its effects on the human body.
So, Koch launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on March 14, 2019, as flight engineer for Expeditions 59, 60, and 61, and on October 18, 2019, she participated in the first all-female spacewalk alongside Jessica Meir. On December 28, 2019, Koch set a record for the longest continuous time spent in space by a woman. Koch returned to Earth on February 6, 2020. She is currently assigned to NASA’s Artemis 3 mission, and if she succeeds in orbiting the Moon in 2025, she will become the first woman to travel beyond low Earth orbit.
Christina Koch has received several prestigious awards throughout her career, including the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation’s Neil Armstrong Award of Excellence and was named by Time magazine as one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020.
During his Artemis mission, Koch performed six spacewalks — including two more with Meir — and spent 42 hours and 15 minutes outside the station. He also devoted much of his time to a variety of experiments and investigations. The space station acts as an orbiting laboratory that can be used to test how various aspects of everyday human life on Earth react to the lack of gravity. “The kidney cell investigation,” writes CNN.com, “was another way to study the potential human health problems that could arise in space: kidney stones and osteoporosis, triggered by poor kidney health. One aspect of the study focused on the effects of diet, water conservation, space travel and microgravity on kidney health, and another aimed at trying to determine new treatments for kidney stones and osteoporosis.”
Her research during the mission also involved studies of plant biology, from the cellular level to studying how plants grow in space and investigations aimed at understanding how fire reacts and behaves in space, which can provide information on spacecraft fire prevention, as well as fuel efficiency and pollutant reduction.
Koch arrived on the space station on March 14, 2019, being the first to pass through the hatch, and returned from space on February 6, 2020
“Sleep in space is one of the most restful I’ve ever had – it’s never too hot or too cold. I’m just floating in the natural position of my body,” CNN.com quoted Koch as saying during the mission. “How will I sleep when I get back to Earth?” I can’t wait to feel and hear the Earth again.”
Currently, as part of the space agency’s ambitious project to send humans to the moon, Koch is preparing for his next adventure. And with it, it will cement its place in the history books. As part of the Artemis II mission, scheduled for November 2024, Koch will spend 10 days on an orbiting trip around the moon with three other astronauts. The team consists of Reid Wiseman, the mission commander, Christina Koch, who holds the world record for the longest space flight by a woman and who will soon be the first to participate in a mission to the moon, Victor Glover, an African naval aviator -American, and Jeremy Hansen, a former Canadian fighter pilot.
This four-person team will be the first to fly NASA’s Orion capsule and the first crew on NASA’s new lunar program, Artemis.
Follow your passions to ensure that when you look at your life and plan it and find yourself at those great crossroads, you choose the path that makes you feel truly close to what you love.
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