NC State to host ‘Welcome Home’ celebration for NASA astronaut Christina Koch

RALEIGH, N.C. — NC State University will welcome home NASA astronaut and three-time graduate Christina Hammock Koch with a public celebration later this month following her return from the historic Artemis II mission.

The Welcome Home Celebration is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 24, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at The Oval on Centennial Campus. The event will be followed by a media availability with Koch from noon to 1 p.m. at Duke Energy Hall inside the James B. Hunt Library.

Koch, an NC State alumna with degrees in physics and electrical engineering, recently completed the Artemis II mission, becoming part of the first crewed mission to travel around the Moon in more than 50 years. The mission served as a critical test of NASA’s Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System, paving the way for future Artemis missions that aim to return astronauts to the lunar surface and eventually support human exploration of Mars.

Before Artemis II, Koch spent 328 days aboard the International Space Station, setting what was then the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman. She also participated in the first all-female spacewalk in 2019.