Mission Specialist
Christina Koch
Birthplace
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Selected
2013 by NASA
Fun Fact
Before becoming an astronaut, Christina spent a full winter at the South Pole and worked at remote stations in Antarctica, Greenland, Alaska, and American Samoa.
Biography
Christina Koch is a NASA astronaut and electrical engineer from Grand Rapids, Michigan, who grew up in Jacksonville, North Carolina. She holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Physics and an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from North Carolina State University. Before joining NASA, she worked at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (contributing to the Juno and Van Allen Probes missions), and spent a full winter at the South Pole as a research associate. She also worked at remote stations in Antarctica, Greenland, Alaska, and American Samoa. Selected as an astronaut in 2013, Koch launched to the ISS in March 2019 and returned in February 2020 after 328 consecutive days, setting the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman. She completed six spacewalks totaling over 42 hours, including the first three all-female EVAs.
Education
B.S. Electrical Engineering and Physics, North Carolina State University
M.S. Electrical Engineering, North Carolina State University
Honorary PhD, North Carolina State University
Missions
Expedition 59/60/61
2019-2020328 consecutive days aboard the ISS, setting the record for longest single spaceflight by a woman. Six spacewalks totaling 42+ hours.
Artemis II
2026Mission Specialist on the first crewed lunar flyby since 1972. Responsible for spacecraft systems evaluation.
