{"id":918579,"date":"2026-10-03T03:04:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T03:04:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/918579\/"},"modified":"2026-10-03T03:04:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T03:04:15","slug":"former-track-cyclist-christina-birch-heads-into-space-with-nasa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/918579\/","title":{"rendered":"Former track cyclist Christina Birch heads into space with NASA"},"content":{"rendered":"

Christina Birch is busy showing the world you can do it all, because the 39-year-old former cyclist will soon be flying to space for NASA. The Arizona native and multiple U.S champion has been selected for the SpaceX-14 mission, which is set to launch in the spring of 2027, according to Velo<\/a>.Birch has already found success as a road and track cyclist\u00a0<\/p>\n

Birch successfully competed as a road and track cyclist for many years, winning several medals in the Track World Cup and enjoying success at the U.S. Championships and the Pan American Games.<\/p>\n

Birch enjoyed her heyday in 2016, 2017, and 2018, during which she consistently competed for medals in several track disciplines in the United States\u2014and won. During her time as a cyclist, she won 11 National Championship titles.<\/p>\n

In 2019, Birch won gold medals at the Pan American Games in the team pursuit<\/a> and the madison. In 2021, she was a member of the U.S. team pursuit squad which ultimately won bronze at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo.<\/p>\n

Read more below the photo<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Christina Birch is adding to her already long list of achievements\u00a0<\/p>\n

During her active career, Birch studied and earned one degree after another. She has degrees in mathematics, biochemistry, and molecular biophysics. In 2015, she earned a PhD in biological engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.<\/p>\n

Having retired from professional cycling in 2021, she was accepted into NASA\u2019s 23rd Astronaut Class on December 6 of that year.<\/p>\n

In a video for NASA<\/a>, she said becoming an astronaut was an incredible opportunity to ‘achieve things humankind have never done before’.<\/p>\n

She also stated she had ‘always been really inspired by my teammates and colleagues’. She went on to list her former lab mates, and the ‘incredibly talented’ riders she worked alongside as a cyclist.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Birch gave an interview for NASA highlighting some of her journey to becoming an astronaut\u00a0<\/p>\n

Birch will go to space in 2027<\/p>\n

Birch said working as a cyclist taught her to ‘push hard’ and ‘bring her best everyday’, which is something she is continuing to apply to her new role in outer space.<\/p>\n

According to her NASA astronaut bio<\/a>, Birch worked as a scientific consultant in various technology sectors such as vaccine development during her time as a professional cyclist.<\/p>\n

At NASA, Birch found what she had been searching for all those years. In early 2027, she will go to space on a mission to conduct \u201cscientific research and technology demonstrations to prepare people for future exploration missions to the Moon and Mars.\u201d<\/p>\n

For fans: here’s Birch’s Instagram page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Birch will be heading to space no sooner than spring 2027, according to Velo<\/p>\n