North Carolina astronaut Christina Koch, 47, will become the first woman to orbit the moon on NASA's historic Artemis II mission. She will be part of a four-member crew for the project, which was announced in 2023. Koch previously broke records by spending 328 days aboard the International Space Station. The mission is set to take off on Wednesday evening at 6:24 p.m. ET after a February launch date was delayed due to hydrogen fuel leaks and a clogged helium pressurization line. The crew will spend 25 hours circling Earth before returning to the moon, which is expected to occur later on the moon.