N.C. State to celebrate Christina Koch

North Carolina State University said this week it will hold a late-August homecoming celebration for astronaut Christina Hammock Koch, the three-time NC State graduate who flew as a mission specialist on NASA’s Artemis II mission. The university said the event will recognize Koch and the April moon mission with campus programming on Aug. 24-25. WUNC first reported the announcement on Aug. 5, and NC State published its own event page on Aug. 4. NASA says Koch served as a mission specialist on Artemis II, the agency’s first crewed Artemis flight, and previously spent nearly all of 2019 aboard the International Space Station. NC State has tied the August event to Koch’s return to North Carolina after the mission. ### When is NC State bringing Koch back to campus? Aug. 24-25 are the dates NC State has posted for the celebration, under the banner “Around the Moon and Pack Again.” The university said Koch is “coming home to NC State” for a two-day visit and described the program as a homecoming tied to her Artemis II flight. (wunc.org) WUNC reported the university had said in an Aug. 5 announcement that events would take place in late August. (nasa.gov) The school’s event page now identifies the dates more specifically as Aug. 24-25. ### Why is Koch such a significant figure for NC State? Christina Hammock Koch holds three degrees from NC State: bachelor’s degrees in electrical engineering and physics, and a master’s degree in electrical engineering, according to the university and NASA. (news.ncsu.edu) NC State has repeatedly described her as a three-time graduate in its coverage of the Artemis II mission and her return visit. (wunc.org) NASA said Koch became an astronaut in 2013 and most recently flew on Artemis II. NC State said her April mission produced “record-breaking experiences,” including becoming the first woman to leave low Earth orbit and the first woman to travel to and around the moon. ### What exactly is Artemis II? NASA says Artemis II sent four astronauts around the moon and back on the first crewed flight under the Artemis campaign. (mae.ncsu.edu) The crew was NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. NASA said the roughly 10-day mission was designed to test the Orion spacecraft’s systems with astronauts aboard and lay groundwork for later crewed Artemis missions. (nasa.gov) NC State’s celebration is framed around Koch’s role in that flight, rather than a new mission announcement from NASA. ### What has NC State said will happen during the celebration? (plus.nasa.gov) NC State said the celebration will include campus events tied to Koch’s visit, and WUNC reported the university planned panels and community events. The school’s announcement says more programming details will be released through its event page. The university said NASA asked NC State to serve as the anchor site for Koch’s upcoming North Carolina visit. (plus.nasa.gov) NC State presented that role as part of a broader homecoming for one of its most prominent alumni in the space program. ### Where can people watch for the next update? NC State’s event page is the university’s public source for schedule updates, and the school said more details are still to come. (wunc.org) WUNC reported on Aug. 5 that ceremony dates would be finalized and announced later; NC State’s page now lists Aug. 24-25 while leaving fuller program details for a later update. Aug. 24-25 is the next fixed milestone in the schedule. (news.ncsu.edu) Christina Koch is expected on campus then, and NC State said additional event information will be posted before the visit. (wunc.org)