It has been four-and-a-half months since the Artemis II splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on April 10, but the enthusiasm and pride for what the four-member crew accomplished has not diminished one iota at one astronaut’s alma mater.
On Monday, students, faculty, and top elected officials gathered on North Carolina State University’s campus to welcome home NASA astronaut and NC State graduate Christina Hammock Koch. Koch became the first woman to travel beyond low Earth orbit, and with her crew broke the record for the farthest distance humans have ever traveled in space.
Governor Josh Stein told those who were there to celebrate Koch’s achievements that North Carolina has a long and remarkable connection to space exploration, starting with the Wright brothers first sustained flight in Kitty Hawk…