Skip to main content

Astronaut Christina Koch says NASA can ‘absolutely’ get to the moon by 2024

Astronaut Christina Koch believes we can “absolutely” get to the moon by 2024.

In an interview with Digital Trends Live, Koch — who recently completed a 328-day stint on the International Space Station (ISS) — said that getting two astronauts to the moon by 2024 is a “bold goal.”

“But I think bold goals bring about innovative ways of doing business,” she said.

NASA’s Artemis mission seeks to put American astronauts on the moon for the first time since 1972, including the very first woman to set foot on the moon’s surface.

Expedition 60 Flight Engineer Christina Koch of NASA works on a U.S. spacesuit in the Quest airlock where U.S. spacewalks are staged aboard the International Space Station. NASA

Having a long-term lunar presence would allow more efficient travel to distant parts of the solar system as well as the potential for more discoveries about the moon itself. The planned lunar base would include elements like a vehicle for transporting astronauts around the moon’s surface, some kind of mobile habitation to allow astronauts to travel across the moon for up to 45 days at a time, and a more permanent lunar habitation structure where up to four astronauts could live for short periods.

Koch added that the work and research NASA is doing right now would allow the Artemis mission to succeed, adding that robotics and artificial intelligence could play a key role in the upcoming Artemis missions.

Human-piloted spacecraft were limited about where and when they could land since previous landings were done with the help of the human eye, Koch said. She said that with automated landing, the moon will be opened up in new ways, like being able to explore the South Pole.

Women With Byte looks at the many contributions women have made to technology past and present, the hurdles they faced (and overcame), and the foundations for the future they’ve laid for the next generations.
Women With Byte Keyart 2021

Koch said that aside from automated landings, advancements will also allow astronauts to stay for extended periods on the moon in the Artemis missions — something she experienced first-hand on the ISS.

“The future of human space exploration is bright,” Koch said.

Editors' Recommendations

Allison Matyus
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Allison Matyus is a general news reporter at Digital Trends. She covers any and all tech news, including issues around social…
Watch record-breaking astronaut Christina Koch return to Earth on Wednesday
The Soyuz MS-13 crew spacecraft approaching the International Space Station

Record-breaking NASA astronaut Christina Koch and two of her colleagues will complete their missions aboard the International Space Station (ISS) this week and head back to Earth, and their departure and landing will be shown live on NASA TV.

Koch will have spent 328 consecutive days in space, during which she broke the record for the longest single-duration spaceflight by a woman, and also participated in the first all-woman spacewalk along with her colleague Jessica Mier. She is also seventh on the list of American astronauts who have spent the most time in space, and will have completed the second-longest single spaceflight stay by any American astronaut after Scott Kelly.

Read more
Watch NASA astronauts spacewalk to replace space station batteries
Jessica-Meir-and-Christina-Koch

NASA astronauts Jessica Meir (left) and Christina Koch are pictured preparing for their first spacewalk together on October 18, 2019. NASA

Two NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) will shortly begin a spacewalk to perform upgrades to the station — and you can watch the event happen live using the video below.

Read more
NASA astronaut Christina Koch breaks record for longest spaceflight
all female spacewalk october blog iss060e000808 1

Expedition 60 Flight Engineer Christina Koch of NASA works on a U.S. spacesuit in the Quest airlock where U.S. spacewalks are staged aboard the International Space Station. NASA

NASA astronaut Christina Koch has just set the record for the longest single spaceflight stay by a woman. Koch has been in space for 289 days, after arriving on the International Space Station (ISS) on March 14 this year. She has overtaken the previous record set by Peggy Whitson, a now-retired NASA astronaut who lived on the ISS for three periods between 2002 and 2017.

Read more