NASA astronaut and North Carolina State University alumna Christina Koch will be honored with the state's highest civilian award, the North Carolina Award.
This prestigious honor recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the state and nation. Koch was a flight engineer on the International Space Station (ISS) for Expedition 59, 60 and 61.
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Koch, a three-time NC State graduate with degrees in physics and electrical engineering, will receive the award from Gov. Roy Cooper at a ceremony on Thursday.
During a 2023 conversation with Chancellor Randy Woodson, Koch shared why NC State was the perfect fit for her education and how it connected to her North Carolina roots.
"I could be close to home," she said. "I could be at a public university, which is meant to support the people that are local, that are North Carolinians and that have so much pride in this state. And NC State just represented doers, places where entrepreneurship was valued, places where learning that theoretical side, but also building upon it and contributing back to the world, was important."
Koch holds a B.S. in physics and a B.S. and M.S. in electrical engineering from NC State. She 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.
She is set to make history again as the first woman to fly to and orbit the moon as part of NASA's Artemis II mission.
The North Carolina Award, established in 1961, celebrates excellence in fine arts, literature, public service and science. This year's ceremony marks the 60th anniversary of the award.