Astronaut Christina Koch, who graduated from North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics and NC State, will be the first woman to fly to the moon
Astronaut Christina Koch, who graduated from North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham and NC State, has been selected to be the first woman to fly around the moon.
Koch is already in the record books as being part of the first all-female spacewalk and completing the longest single spaceflight by a woman.
NASA has now selected her to be part of the Artemis II mission. That mission will be the first manned mission of the Artemis program. It will test if the Orion spacecraft can function properly with humans aboard.
The Orion spacecraft has already successfully traveled around the moon without anyone aboard. Ultimately, the Artemis program plans to use the Orion spacecraft to land humans on the moon again and eventually send them to Mars and beyond.
« The unique Artemis II mission profile will build upon the uncrewed Artemis I flight test by demonstrating a broad range of SLS and Orion capabilities needed on deep space missions, » said Mike Sarafin, Artemis mission manager.
