CHRISTINA KOCH has the sort of job youngsters dream of. Beginning in 2019, on her first mission to the International Space Station (ISS), the NASA astronaut lived in area for 328 days – the longest time any woman has spent there. During that mission, she 3D printed organic tissues, grew proteins, labored on a darkish matter experiment and made up half of the first all-female spacewalk.
Now, as a part of the area company’s formidable mission to ship folks again to the moon, Koch is preparing for her subsequent journey. With it, she will cement her place in the historical past books. On the Artemis II mission, scheduled for November, Koch will spend 10 days on a visit to circle the moon with three different astronauts. Doing this will in all probability imply she gained’t get to set foot on the lunar floor in the future, nevertheless, due to the lifetime security limits on how lengthy an astronaut can spend in area. Nevertheless, she will change into the first woman to orbit Earth’s satellite tv for pc and set eyes on its mysterious far aspect.
Artemis II will be the first crewed check of NASA’s colossal Space Launch System rocket and the Orion craft that sits atop it, setting the stage for future missions with the goal of touchdown people on the moon for the first time since 1972. Koch spoke with New Scientist about her very important work aboard the ISS, what area smells like and the distinctive microgravity sports activities you’ll be able to play in orbit.
Leah Crane: What was it like to be…