Astronaut Christina Koch takes new NASA role. See photos from Artemis II

The crew of Artemis II (from left: Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, Pilot Victor Glover and Commander Reid Wiseman) answer questions at a Jan. 17, 2026, press conference as their Space Launch System rocket is transported to the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

With Koch's announcement, all four astronauts who flew on the Artemis II mission have now stepped away from spaceflight since the mission came to an end in April 2026.

The crew of Artemis II (mission specialists Jeremy Hansen and Christina Koch, Pilot Victor Glover and Commander Reid Wiseman) arrive March 27 at the Kennedy Space Center ahed of the April 1 launch on a mission to fly around the moon and back.

The second mission under NASA's multibillion-dollar Artemis program, Artemis II marked the first time humans flew near the moon in more than 50 years and set the stage for a potential crewed landing as early as 2028.

The Artemis II astronauts leave crew quarters April 1 at the Kennedy Space Center as they prepare to board an Orion capsule for a launch atop NASA's Space Launch System rocket on a 10-day trip around the moon.

The four astronauts rode in NASA's Orion spacecraft, which hitched a ride to space atop NASA's powerful 322-foot Space Launch System rocket during an April 1 launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. During the 10-day spaceflight, the Orion vehicle carried the astronauts around the moon and back to Earth without landing on the lunar surface.

Artemis II Mission Specialist Christina Koch celebrates as the Artemis II crew leaves their quarters April 1 at Kennedy Space Center ahead of the launch on an 10-day mission around the moon.

A native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Koch grew up in Jacksonville, North Carolina Before she was even selected for the Artemis II mission, Koch, an engineerm has already had a prolific, record-setting astronaut career.

Spaceship Earth NASA astronaut and Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch peers out of one of the Orion spacecraft's main cabin windows, looking back at Earth, as the crew travels towards the Moon.

First selected in the 2013 astronaut class, Koch made history in 2019 when she conducted the first all-woman spacewalk at the International Space Station. On Oct. 28, 2019, Koch spent more than seven hours suited up and exposed to the vacuum of space with astronaut Jessica Meir, who herself recently returned from the outpost for the second time as part of the Crew-12 mission.

NASA astronaut and Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch is pictured April 4 inside the Orion spacecraft.

Koch, 47, is also an avid amateur hobbyist, whose favorite activities include surfing, rock climbing and adventuring.

Lunar Selfie Midway through their lunar observation period, the Artemis II crew members, seen here (From left to right: Victor Glover, Jeremy Hansen, Reid Wiseman, and Christina Koch), pause to turn the camera around for a selfie inside the Orion spacecraft.

Eclipse Safety First The Artemis II crew – Mission Specialist Christina Koch (top left), Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen (bottom left), Commander Reid Wiseman (bottom right), and Pilot Victor Glover (top right) – uses eclipse viewers, identical to what NASA produced for the 2023 annular eclipse and 2024 total solar eclipse, to protect their eyes at key moments during the solar eclipse they experienced during their lunar flyby. This was the first use of eclipse glasses at the Moon to safely view a solar eclipse.

The crew members of Artemis II embrace following the historic lunar flyby April 6, during which the astronauts flew farther from Earth than anyone in human history while seeing sights of the moon's far side never seen in person.

NASA astronauts Victor Glover and Christina Koch sit on a Navy MH-60 Seahawk from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 23 on the flight deck of USS John P. Murtha after they and crewmates Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen and NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman were extracted from their Orion spacecraft after splashdown, April 10 in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.

NASA astronaut Christina Koch walks across the flight deck of the U.S. Navy ship USS John P. Murtha following extraction from the Artemis II mission's Orion crew module in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, on April 10, 2026.

NASA astronaut Victor Glover, Artemis II pilot, left, and NASA astronaut Christina Koch, Artemis II mission specialist are seen sitting on a Navy MH-60 Seahawk from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 23 on the flight deck of USS John P. Murtha after they and fellow crewmates CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, Artemis II mission specialist, and NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, Artemis II commander, were extracted from their Orion spacecraft after splashdown, Friday, April 10, 2026, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. NASA's Artemis II mission took the quartet on a nearly 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth. Following a splashdown at 5:07 p.m. PDT (8:07 p.m. EDT), NASA, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force teams are working to bring the Orion spacecraft aboard the recovery ship.

NASA astronaut Christina Koch, Artemis II mission specialist is assisted off the flight deck after arriving aboard USS John P. Murtha after she and fellow crewmates NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot; and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist were extracted from their Orion spacecraft after splashdown, Friday, April 10, 2026, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. NASA's Artemis II mission took the quartet on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth. Following a splashdown at , NASA and U.S. military teams are working to bring the crewmembers and Orion spacecraft aboard the recovery ship.

NASA astronaut Christina Koch sits April 10 in a U.S. Navy MH-60S Seahawk on the flight deck of the U.S. Navy's USS John P. Murtha after returning from the Artemis II moon flyby mission in an Orion capsule, which splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.

NASA’s Artemis II crewmembers Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Jeremy Hansen watch a replay of themselves April 30 ringing the closing bell of the Nasdaq market session, in Times Square.

US President Donald Trump welcomes Artemis II astronauts Victor Glover (L), Christina Koch (2nd L), Reid Wiseman (2nd R) and Jeremy Hansen (R) in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 29, 2026.

Artemis II astronaut, mission specialist Christina Koch attends an event with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on April 29, 2026 in Washington, DC.

The crew of Artemis II (from left) Jeremy Hansen, Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman answer questions July 8 during an appearance at the Kennedy Space Center.

US President Donald Trump presents a Congressional Space Medal of Honor to NASA astronaut and mission specialist Christina Koch at NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on Aug. 28, 2026. The Artemis II crew are being honored with the Congressional Space Medal of Honor for their historic mission around the Moon.

NASA astronaut and mission specialist Christina Koch (L) reacts after US President Donald Trump presented her with a Congressional Space Medal of Honor at NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on Aug. 28, 2026. The Artemis II crew are being honored with the Congressional Space Medal of Honor for their historic mission around the Moon.