Who is Christina Koch, the NC State grad headed to space?

When NASA launches its first crewed moon mission into space in more than 50 years on Wednesday afternoon, a North Carolina State University graduate will make history. 

Christina Koch will be the first woman on a moon mission. Koch will be among four astronauts aboard NASA’s Artemis II mission, which will travel around the moon and back. The mission is expected to last less than 10 days, but will mark a key step toward a long-term return to the Moon and future missions to Mars. 

"I am so grateful to those that paved the way for me to be here and for all of us to be here and it's an honor to potentially inspire the explorers of the future," Koch said Monday when speaking to the media. 

Who is Christina Koch? 

The three-time N.C. State graduate grew up in Jacksonville and attended North Carolina School of Science and Math in Durham. At N.C. State, she earned Bachelor of Science degrees in electrical engineering and physics and a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering. An Honorary PhD from N.C. State came later.

"Growing up in North Carolina, the night sky is one of the things that used to inspire me. It is one of the things that made me want to be an astronaut," Koch told WRAL News in 2020.

 "Looking up and seeing the stars in my backyard was a great source of inspiration. It reminded me how big the universe is and everywhere." Astronaut Christina Koch

In an interview with WRAL in 2024, Koch said she was inspired as a child by learning about the civil rights movement and students who "really stood up for what they knew was right and what they believe in."

Koch received the state's highest civilian award, the North Carolina Award, in 2024. The prestigious honor recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the state and nation. Koch was honored for her work as a flight engineer on the International Space Station (ISS) for Expedition 59, 60 and 61.

Koch is making history as the first woman on a moon mission on Wednesday aboard NASA’s Artemis II mission. But she also set another record earlier in her career. 

Koch spent 328 days in space from 2019 to 2020, setting the record for the longest continuous spaceflight by a woman and participating in the first all-woman spacewalk.  

Koch worked for years training for the Artemis mission. She spoke to WRAL in 2020 when she was identified as one of 18 astronauts being considered for the historic flight. 

"I think my message is to always do the things that might even scare you, the things that intimidate you, the things you think that maybe are beyond your reach," Koch said in 2024. "But actually, when you achieve them, you learn the most about yourself and you bring the most back to the world."

Wolfpack pride

A watch party at NC State's Talley Student Union is set to celebrate the alumna's flight to the moon this afternoon. Among those attending is her former academic advisor.

Dr. Stephen Reynolds is a professor emeritus of Physics who oversaw Christina Koch when she was an undergraduate from 1999-2002.

"It's just absolutely spectacular," Reynolds said. "It was clear she was heading for great things and it's just been one great thing after another."

Reynolds was first introduced to Koch--then Christina Hammock--by another instructor who told him about the incredibly enthusiastic young woman they had in their class.

"Not long after that, I became Christina's advisor and she was just the most energetic, cheerful and motivated young woman. She had enormous self-confidence but not in any kind of offensive way. She was really good. She was friends with other students, just amazingly energetic and involved in many things," Reynolds said.

He wrote a letter of recommendation for her around 1999. It was around that same time he learned about her ambitions for a career in space.

"I thought, yeah well that's nice. I mean, every parent's child wants to be an astronaut. So you know, you pat them on the head and say, yeah go. You go, girl. Well, she went. So it's been a trip ever since," Reynolds said.

The odds are low for anyone to become a NASA astronaut.

When NASA selected applications in 2024, more than 8,000 people applied. Ten were selected as candidates. Just 370 people have been selected for the job since 1959.

Reynolds kept up with Koch's career after she graduated from NC State. First, she worked as an electrical engineer at Goddard Space Flight Center. Later, she did research in Antarctica, Greenland and the South Pacific.

"I thought well, this is all working out very, very nicely. Then, bam. She was an astronaut," Reynolds said.

He last spoke to Koch via video message the last time she was in orbit. During her 328-day voyage aboard the International Space Station in 2019, her sister included a message from Reynolds in a clip to celebrate Koch passing the 100-day milestone.

Reynolds said while the odds remain long for aspiring space travelers, Koch has become an example he and his colleagues can point to when encouraging NC State physics majors.

"She worked amazingly hard. She was a simultaneous major in electrical engineering, so she got two electrical engineering degrees at the same time she was getting one in physics. It's just staggering what she was able to accomplish and that she had absolute faith in herself that she could get it done," Reynolds said.