Common Questions

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

Background

Christina Koch served as Mission Specialist on Artemis II, launched 1 April 2026 and splashed down 10 April, becoming the first woman to travel beyond low Earth orbit. She responded to a question at the post-flight press conference at JSC on 16 April with four words: "We made it happen". During the mission she was responsible for the AVATAR organ-on-chip experiments, using 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). She participated in the first all-female spacewalk with Jessica Meir. Her long-duration experience makes her the crew member with the most directly applicable ISS data on prolonged microgravity physiology.

Koch's selection for Artemis II positions her as a leading candidate for a future Artemis landing crew. She was among the two finalists considered for Artemis III before that mission's timeline was restructured. The AVATAR tissue results, once published through peer-review channels, will be among the first personalised spaceflight biology data from beyond low Earth orbit.