{"id":215435,"date":"2026-04-02T02:31:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T02:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/215435\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T02:31:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T02:31:12","slug":"koch-to-orbit-lunar-surface-on-artemis-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/215435\/","title":{"rendered":"Koch to orbit lunar surface on Artemis II"},"content":{"rendered":"

A woman who grew up in eastern North Carolina is preparing to make history as part of NASA\u2019s next mission beyond Earth\u2019s orbit.<\/p>\n

Christina Koch, a Jacksonville native, is set to serve as a mission specialist aboard Artemis II \u2014 a mission that will send astronauts around the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years. She is expected to become the first woman to travel that far into deep space.<\/p>\n

Koch\u2019s journey began at White Oak High School in Onslow County before she went on to attend NC State University, where she earned degrees in physics and engineering.<\/p>\n

\"Jacksonville<\/p>\n

Jacksonville native Christina Koch set to make history on Artemis II mission<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople say, what is it about your background? What did you bring with you from eastern North Carolina?\u201d Koch said. \u201cThe fact that this place taught me that every single person has a contribution and is 100% part of the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before being selected for Artemis II, Koch spent nearly a year aboard the International Space Station in 2019 and participated in the first all-female spacewalk.<\/p>\n

Artemis II will be NASA\u2019s first crewed mission under the Artemis program, following the uncrewed Artemis I mission in 2022. The mission will test systems aboard the Orion spacecraft, including life support, navigation and communications, as NASA prepares for future Moon landings and eventual missions to Mars.<\/p>\n

The spacecraft will launch aboard the Space Launch System rocket from Kennedy Space Center, travel nearly a quarter-million miles to orbit the Moon, and return to Earth.<\/p>\n

\"Jacksonville<\/p>\n

Jacksonville native Christina Koch set to make history on Artemis II mission<\/p>\n

Koch\u2019s former cheerleading coach at White Oak High School, Tanya Larose, once described her as determined and motivated.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so proud of her,\u201d Larose said. \u201cShe always had grit and she was motivated.\u201d Larose passed away in 2024. A tree at White Oak High School, named Artemis I Moon Tree, was planted in honor of Koch and Larose<\/a><\/p>\n

Former NC State advisor Dr. Stephen Reynolds said Koch brings both technical skill and the ability to inspire others.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s one of the most highly trained individuals but she is also great at connecting with people,\u201d Reynolds said.<\/p>\n

\"Jacksonville<\/p>\n

Jacksonville native Christina Koch set to make history on Artemis II mission<\/p>\n

For students in Jacksonville, Koch\u2019s accomplishments serve as a reminder of what is possible.<\/p>\n

Her path from eastern North Carolina classrooms to deep space reflects the broader goals of the Artemis program \u2014 not only advancing space exploration, but inspiring the next generation.<\/p>\n

As Artemis II prepares for launch, Koch\u2019s journey is expected to mark another milestone in space exploration and representation, while highlighting her roots in eastern North Carolina.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A woman who grew up in eastern North Carolina is preparing to make history as part of NASA\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":215436,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-215435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215435\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}