Christina Koch Made History As The First Woman To Travel Around The Moon

For the first time on over 50 years, NASA sent astronauts to lunar space on Artemis II. Apollo 17, which launched in 1972 was the last manned mission around the moon. The crew on board Artemis II included Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Jeremy Hansen, and Christina Koch.

The crew made history in several ways. The first woman (Koch), the first Black person (Glover), and the first Canadian (Hansen) were all members of the crew.

Artemis II launched on April 1st at 6:35 PM Eastern Time from the Kennedy Space Center.

NASA Astronauts Return Home

The astronauts carried out a successful 10-day mission around the Moon and returned back to Earth on Friday, April 10th.

The public loved watching the crew’s journey whether it be their inspirational talks and statements about faith, the crew’s shared love for each other, and of course, the emotional moment when they named a new crater after Wiseman’s late wife, Carroll.

At 7:53 PM ET, the capsule carrying the Artemis II crew reentered the Earth’s atmosphere traveling a maximum velocity of 23,864 mph. Due to this, NASA figured there’s be a communication blackout for several minutes.

The capsule splashed down at 8:07 PM ET off the coast of San Diego, California, where the US Navy was on-site to bring them to the U.S.S. John Murtha for medical examination.

After being cleared by medical, the astronauts were able to reunite with their loved ones.

See Reid Wiseman pose with his daughters upon his return. He captioned the sweet photo, “Mission complete.”

A reunification that has captured the hearts of America is the one between Christina Koch and her precious pup, Sadie.

In a video that Christina posted to her Instagram, we see Sadie scratching at the front door when she can see her owner through the window. After the front door flew open, Sadie gave her lots of affection! She was so excited that she was running around the foyer, grabbed a toy, and did a lap around Christina!

It’s clear that the astronaut was just as excited to her see Sadie! Following their reunification, Sadie and Christina hit the beach where they both enjoyed running in the ocean.

“I’m still pretty sure I was the happier side of this reunion. Sadie taught me everything I needed to know about being an emotional support animal. Didn’t expect that would come in handy,” Koch wrote.

See their adorable reunion below!