Christina Koch
NASA Mission Specialist on Artemis II; first woman to travel beyond low Earth orbit.
Last refreshed: 2 April 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
What science is Christina Koch running during the Artemis II lunar flyby?
Latest on Christina Koch
- Who is Christina Koch?
- Christina Koch is a NASA astronaut serving as Mission Specialist on Artemis II. She holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman at 328 days.Source: NASA astronaut biography
- Why is Christina Koch on Artemis II?
- Koch was selected for her long-duration spaceflight experience and scientific background. She is the first woman to travel beyond low Earth orbit.Source: NASA crew announcement
- What experiments is Christina Koch running on Artemis II?
- Koch is overseeing the AVATAR organ-on-chip experiments, which use cells from each crew member's own bone marrow as personalised living experiments during the lunar transit.Source: Artemis II science manifest
- Has Christina Koch done a spacewalk?
- Yes. Koch participated in the first all-female spacewalk with Jessica Meir in October 2019 during her record-setting 328-day ISS mission.Source: NASA ISS mission records
Background
Christina Koch is a Mission Specialist on Artemis II, launched 1 April 2026, and will become the first woman to travel beyond low Earth orbit. She is also responsible for the AVATAR organ-on-chip experiments aboard Orion, which use cells grown from each crew member's own bone marrow as personalised living experiments during the lunar transit.
Koch is a NASA astronaut (class of 2013) and former field engineer for the US Antarctic Programme. She holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman: 328 days on the ISS during Expeditions 59-61 (2019-20). During that mission she participated in the first all-female spacewalk with fellow astronaut Jessica Meir. Her long-duration spaceflight experience makes her the crew member with the most directly applicable data on the physiological effects of extended microgravity.
Koch's selection for Artemis II is both operationally and symbolically significant. She was one of the two finalists considered for the first Moon landing (Artemis III) before that mission's timeline was disrupted, and her presence on the flyby mission positions her as a leading candidate for a future landing crew.
