Christina Koch

Christina Hammock was born on January 29, 1979, in Grand Rapids, Michigan,^[1][2] and is the oldest of four siblings.^[3] Her parents, Barbara Johnsen^[a] of Frederick, Maryland^[4][5] and Ronald Hammock of Jacksonville, North Carolina,^[6] met while working at a hospital in Kalamazoo, Michigan where her mother was a medical technician and her father was a resident doctor.^[7] Her family moved to Dearborn, Michigan when she was an infant and later moved to Jacksonville, North Carolina in 1982 where she spent the remainder of her childhood.^[3][4][7][8]

As a child, Koch spent her summers with her family at her maternal grandfather's farm in Sparta, Michigan, tending fields with her younger family members.^[4] According to her mother, her grandparents would tell the young Koch "You've got to work hard to make it happen because if you don't, it won't", with both Koch and her mother attributing her work ethic to her days working on the farm.^[4][5] From an early age, she aspired to become an astronaut.^[4][9] Her maternal grandparents noted her adventurous spirit from her time on the family farm^[4] and in her room, she placed on her wall clipped images of space and Antarctica from National Geographic magazines, with Koch later stating "All of these places that were on the frontiers, places to be explored, just caught my interest from the time I was really young."^[3] She attended at least three Space Camps in Huntsville, Alabama.^[4]

She briefly attended White Oak High School^[3] and graduated from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham in 1997. In 1999, Koch participated in a student exchange program at the University of Ghana, Legon, where she studied astrophysics. She then enrolled at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, earning Bachelor of Science degrees in electrical engineering and physics in 2001, followed by a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering in 2002.^[10][6] In 2001, she completed the NASA Academy program at the Goddard Space Flight Center.^[6] Outside of her studies she provided photographs to the Technician and did volunteer work for Habitat for Humanity and Engineers Without Borders.^[3]

Koch graduated from the NASA Academy program at GSFC in 2001. She worked as an electrical engineer in the Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics at GSFC from 2002 to 2004.^[11] Koch has worked in space‑science instrument development and remote scientific field engineering. As an electrical engineer at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics, she contributed to scientific instruments for several NASA missions studying astrophysics and cosmology.^[6] During this period, she also served as adjunct faculty at Montgomery College in Maryland, where she led a physics laboratory course.^[6]

From 2004 to 2007, Koch worked as a research associate in the United States Antarctic Program, spending three and a half years in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.^[6][12] She completed a winter-over season at the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station, where temperatures reached −111 °F (−79 °C),^[12] and an additional season at Palmer Station. While in Antarctica, she served on firefighting teams and ocean/glacier search‑and‑rescue teams.^[6] Koch has described her time at the South Pole as mentally and physically challenging, noting,^[12] "[This] means going months without seeing the sun, with the same crew, and without shipments of mail or fresh food. The isolation, absence of family and friends, and lack of new sensory inputs are all conditions that you must find a strategy to thrive within."^[13]

From 2007 to 2009, Koch worked as an electrical engineer in the Space Department of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, focusing on space-science instrument development.^[6] She contributed to instruments studying radiation particles for NASA missions, including Juno and Van Allen Probes.^[6] The following year, she completed tours at Palmer Station in Antarctica and multiple winter seasons at Summit Station in Greenland.^[6] In 2012, she joined the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), first as a field engineer at the Global Monitoring Division Baseline Observatory in Barrow, Alaska (now Utqiaġvik), and later as station chief of the American Samoa Observatory.^[6]

In June 2013, Koch was selected by NASA as part of Astronaut Group 21, becoming one of four NASA astronauts born in the Grand Rapids metropolitan area, alongside Roger B. Chaffee, Jack R. Lousma and David Leestma.^[4] She completed her training in July 2015, qualifying her for future missions.^[14] Her astronaut candidate training included scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in International Space Station systems, spacewalks, robotics, physiological training, T-38 flight training, and water and wilderness survival training.^[6]

Expeditions 59-61

On March 14, 2019, Koch launched to the International Space Station aboard Soyuz MS-12 with Aleksey Ovchinin and Nick Hague to join the Expedition 59/60/61 crew.^[15]

Koch was scheduled to perform her first extravehicular activity (EVA) on March 29, in what would have been the first all‑female spacewalk alongside Anne McClain. However, spacesuit sizing constraints led to McClain being replaced by Hague.^[16] Koch later performed the first all‑female spacewalk with Jessica Meir on October 18, as part of a series of upgrades to the ISS power systems and physics observatories.^[17][18][19] Koch and Meir conducted two additional all‑female spacewalks in January 2020.^[20]

On April 17, 2019, due to reassignment schedules associated with the Commercial Crew Development program, Koch's mission was extended to February 2020. She returned to Earth on February 6 after 328 days in space – the longest single continuous spaceflight by a woman, surpassing Peggy Whitson's 289-day record.^[21] The extension marked the first time NASA had lengthened a first‑time astronaut's mission in this way.^[22][23][24] Koch's extended stay is being used to study the physical, biological, and psychological effects of long‑duration spaceflight on women.^[25] During the mission, she made the first edit to Wikipedia from space to add a description of her own spacewalk.^[26][27]

Artemis II

Koch was selected as a member of NASA's Artemis program.^[28] On April 3, 2023, she was announced as a mission specialist in the Artemis II crew, joined by NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.^[29] Artemis II launched on April 1, 2026 and flew by the Moon on April 6, 2026,^[30][31][32] traveling 6,400 miles (10.299 km) beyond the Moon's far side before returning to Earth on April 10, 2026.^[29][33] Koch is the first woman to leave low Earth orbit^[34] and to fly around the Moon.^[35] During the flyby, Koch photographed Earthset.

Koch resides in Galveston, Texas with her husband, Bob, who is a geospatial engineer.^[3][36][37] The couple met at a Halloween party in American Samoa, where Koch was working at a climate research station and her husband was working as a government contractor for the Samoan Department of Commerce.^[38]

Her hobbies include surfing, rock and ice climbing, programming, community service, triathlon, yoga, backpacking, woodworking, photography, and travel.^[39][40] Koch is also a fan of Philadelphia sports teams and has posted pictures of herself watching the Phillies and Eagles on the ISS.^[41]

Koch has received numerous awards during her career at NASA and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, including the NASA Group Achievement Award for the Juno Mission Jupiter Energetic Particle Detector Instrument (2012); Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory Invention of the Year nominee (2009); United States Congress Antarctic Service Medal with Winter-Over distinction, (2005); NASA Group Achievement Award for the Suzaku Mission X-ray Spectrometer Instrument (2005); and Astronaut Scholar, Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (2000–2001).^[6]

In December 2020, Koch was awarded an honorary Doctor of Sciences degree from her alma mater, North Carolina State University.^[42]

Koch was included in Time's list of the 100 Most Influential People of 2020.^[43]