A graduate of North Carolina State University may become the first woman to walk on the moon. NASA announced that Christina Koch was among 18 astronauts selected to train for its Artemis program, which aims to send the first woman and next man to the Moon by 2024.
"At NASA, we have always answered the innate call to go," the space agency wrote. "Now, we're returning to the Moon under the Artemis program to learn to live and work on another world for the benefit of humanity."
Originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan, Koch grew up in Jacksonville, North Carolina, and attended NC State, where she earned bachelor's degrees in electrical engineering and physics as well as a master's in electrical engineering. In 2020, she received an honorary Ph.D. from her alma mater as well.
Earlier this year, Koch set a record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, with 328 days in space. She also made history when she participated in the first all-women spacewalk in 2019, along with fellow Artemis astronaut Jessica Meir.
Humans haven't landed on the Moon since 1972, but the Artemis program will change that, with multiple missions of differing phases of exploration. Artemis I, set for 2021, will test unmanned flights around the Moon. Artemis II in 2023 will have astronauts on board, but it's not until Artemis III in 2024 that humanity will return to lunar surface.
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