Livingston's Christina Koch set for historic Artemis II moon trip

Missoula, MT — NASA prepared to send astronauts to the moon on Artemis II, a mission that included former Livingston resident Christina Koch.

The crew included three Americans and one Canadian. The mission was set to travel farther into space than any human crew had in decades while testing a new spacecraft and circling the far side of the moon before returning to Earth.

Koch was part of that crew and was set to become the first woman to travel around the moon.

Koch reflected on that moment and what it could mean for others.

"I am so grateful to those that paved the way for me to be here and for all of us to be here and it's an honor to potentially inspire the explorers of the future," Koch said.

Montanans were excited about Koch's role in the mission. NonStop Local spoke with Taylor Planetarium Director Erik Loberg, who explained why the launch stood out for the public.

"Artemis 2 is the first time we'll send people from the earth in the last 50 years so this is uh something that hasn't happened in quite some time in a lot of peoples lifetimes. Uh 1972 Apollo 17 went up and this will be the first time that we're leaving in the deep space and we'll be able to see the moon with humans again," Loberg said.

The mission marked the first time since 1972 that humans were set to head into deep space.