47-year-old astronaut Christina Koch, part of the four-member team for NASA’s Moon mission Artemis-2, is set to become the world’s first woman to reach lunar orbit. In 2019-20, she set the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman (from launch to landing) by spending 328 days on the International Space Station. The journey to reach this milestone has not been easy. Christina, a resident of Michigan, USA, first applied for a job at NASA in 2011 but was unsuccessful. After this setback, instead of giving up, she spent the next four years improving herself. She honed her skills by doing challenging engineering work in remote areas. When the opportunity came again in 2013, she secured a place in the team of 8 people selected from 6 thousand applicants. The experience before NASA was equally challenging. Christina worked for nearly three years on a research mission in Antarctica. She spent entire winters at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, where the sun doesn’t rise for months and temperatures drop from minus 38 to 80 degrees Celsius. In the difficult environment, she learned patience and mental strength, which proved useful in later space missions. Once, the charging unit of the space station’s power system malfunctioned. To fix it, Christina, along with her colleague Jessica Meir, went outside the station on a repair mission. In this mission that lasted about 7 hours, they replaced the unit. This was the first mission conducted entirely by female astronauts. This gave a new dimension to the role of women in space. Christina also has stories about her marriage. In 2013, she was stationed at a research station. It was at a Halloween party here that she met Robert Koch, who was associated with the Geospatial Program. Robert, a surfing enthusiast, would often call Christina to get videos to check the wave conditions. This is where their conversation began, which gradually progressed from friendship to love. Later, they got married. Christina, who has done yoga in space, says – it provides mental balance Christina considers yoga a part of her mental balance. In the difficult conditions of space, yoga taught her to remain calm. During her record 328-day mission in 2020, when the body would start floating in zero gravity, she would complete yoga poses tied with ropes and foot restraints. Gazing at Earth through the window was soothing. Christina has continued yoga during the Artemis 2 mission training as well. She is also fond of trekking and rock climbing.
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