Christina Koch: 5 things to know about the astronaut who goes to the moon on the first mission after Apollo

• Christina Koch is best known for being an American engineer and NASA astronaut from the class of 2013.
• He made history by spending a record 328 days in space.
• Christina was recently named as one of the four crew members of the first manned mission to the moon since Apollo in 2024.

cristina koch, 44, has been named as one of four astronauts who will take part in the first manned lunar mission since Apollo. The Jacksonville, North Carolina native and his fellow astronauts Victor Glove AND wise reid will join the Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen later next year, when they leave for the mission, to be called Artemis II, NASA officials announced April 3. The planned space trip comes four months after the completion of the Artemis I flight, a test that launched the massive Space Launch System rocket for the first time and sent Orion’s crew capsule, with no astronauts aboard, into orbit around the Moon. Washington Post informed.

Before hitting the headlines for her upcoming mission to the moon, Christina turned heads about returning to Earth in February 2020 alongside the European Space Agency astronaut. Luke Parmitano and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov after spending a record 328 days in space. The Soyuz spacecraft carrying the trio of space explorers landed near Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, at 4:12 a.m. ET, according to Cnn. “I’m so excited and happy right now,” she told reporters as she sat outside the pod. She has a reason to be happy because she made history while she was in orbit around the Earth.

For the uninitiated, here’s more on Christina Koch and why her name is now in the history books:

Christina set the record for the longest spaceflight by a woman.

328. It is a number that will remain in Christina’s heart for the rest of her days. It is the number of consecutive days she has spent in space, the longest for a woman. (The longest space flight by anyone is still 437 days, as defined by the Russian Valery Polyakovwho set the record from January 1994 to March 1995.) The previous record holder was another American, Peggy Whitson, with 288 days. During Christina’s mission, she completed 5,248 Earth orbits and traveled 223 million kilometres/139 million miles, according to the BBC. That’s the equivalent of 291 round trips from Earth to the Moon.

“For me, it’s about the honor I feel of following in the footsteps of my heroes,” he told reporters days before his return. “It was important for me to see people in whom I saw a reflection of myself, growing up, when I imagined what I could do with my life and what my dreams would be. Maybe being that inspiration for someone else is an honor.”

STORY: Astronaut Christina Koch returns to Earth after spending 328 days aboard the International Space Station, setting a record for the longest flight by a woman https://t.co/nYUPxdR1xY pic.twitter.com/E0exAHSppR

—CBS News (@CBSNoticias) February 6, 2020

It was also part of the first female spacewalk.

On October 18, 2019, Christina and her fellow astronaut, jessica meir, set another record by performing the first female spacewalk. “We called each other out and knew we were truly honored by this opportunity to inspire so many, and just to hear our voices speaking at Mission Control, knowing that two female voices were never in the know, solving these issues together from the sidelines . It was a really special feeling,” Christina said of the first spacewalk, according to CNN. During her mission, she completed a total of six spacewalks.

His mission helped NASA prepare to go to Mars.

While in space, Christina spent much of her time conducting various scientific experiments and investigations. But only To be in space it was an experiment. Weightlessness causes astronauts to lose bone and muscle mass, and Christina was part of Spinal Strength Research, which focused on helping develop countermeasures for the impact of spaceflight.

“Koch’s extended mission will provide researchers with an opportunity to observe the effects of long-duration spaceflight on a woman as the agency plans to return to the Moon under the Artemis program and prepare for human exploration of Mars “, he has declared. a declaration. Of Cnn. He has also been part of the Kidney Cells investigation (which studies the development of kidney stones and osteoporosis in space) and the Microgravity Crystals investigation (which could lead to better cancer treatments).

Hope someone breaks his record.

Born in Michigan and raised in North Carolina, Christina always wanted to be an astronaut. You graduated from the North Carolina School of Mathematics and Science in 1997, then earned two Bachelors of Science degrees from North Carolina State University at Raleigh. She graduated from the NASA Academy program in 2001. NASA selected her as part of Astronaut Group 21 in 2013. Two years later, she completed her training and was launched into space in 2019.

As he basks in the glory of his flight record, he hopes someone breaks it soon, because it means “we keep pushing those limits.”

She’s ready for some Mexican food..

After a year in space, Christina is ready to relax. She can’t wait to eat a bag of chips with some salsa, the food she misses the most. Crunchy, flaky foods like french fries are not allowed on the space station because leftovers can clog the equipment. She is also ready to spend time with her husband, betoat his home near the Gulf of Mexico in Galveston

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