University Of Ghana Celebrates Old Student Christina Koch Set to Become First Woman to Orbit Moon
- NASA's Artemis II crew includes University of Ghana's own Christina Koch, heading for lunar history and a space adventure
- Koch’s unique journey as a former exchange student at the University of Ghana has sparked interest from Ghanaians
- NASA’s Artemis II spacecraft was launched on April 1, 2026, and is expected to return on April 10, 2026
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US astronaut Christina Koch has become a figure of attention in Ghana because of her educational history.
She was an exchange student at the University of Ghana over 20 years ago.
Source: Getty Images
Now, Koch is set to make history as part of the Artemis II crew, which is on a 10-day mission around the Moon, that could take them further from Earth than anyone has ever been before.
The crew plan to circle it while travelling further from Earth than anyone has ever been before.
Following on from the unmanned Artemis I mission in 2022, NASA's Artemis programme is preparing for deep-space missions and hopes to reach Mars in the 2030s.
The University of Ghana acknowledged Koch, wishing her and her team well on their mission in a post on X.
What Christina Koch said about her time in Ghana
In a tweet from 2019, Koch opened up about her time as a University of Ghana student, detailing how impactful her stay was and the amazing people she interacted with.
“20 years ago, I was studying abroad at the @UnivofGh. Like spaceflight, it was a positive, life-changing, perspective-deepening experience. Seeing the beauty of Ghana from space reminds me of the amazing people I met there and how, in exploring the world, we learn about ourselves."
She also took to her Instagram page in November 2023 to express delight at returning to Ghana after 24 years away.
“Perspective is everything. When I studied abroad in Ghana and when I saw the Earth from space, the world and my place in it changed forever for me. I realised that what I had taken for granted as absolute was really just one of many ways of being, and I grew through building bridges of understanding.
About the Artemis II programme
NASA’s Artemis II spacecraft was launched on April 1, 2026, and is expected to return on April 10, 2026, after 10 days of orbiting the Moon.
Artemis II's four astronauts are Koch, Reid Weisman, Victor Glover, and Jeremy Hansen.
They are the first crewed flight of NASA's gigantic Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion space capsule.
Hansen, who is from the Canadian Space Agency, will also make history as the first Canadian to venture to the Moon.
During the mission, the astronauts will manually fly the capsule in Earth orbit to practise steering and lining up the spacecraft for future Moon landings.
They will then head out to a point thousands of kilometres beyond the Moon to check Orion's life‑support, propulsion, power and navigation systems.
Afronita graduates from UG
YEN.com.gh reported that dancer Danita Akosua Adomaah Yeboah, popularly known as Afronita, graduated from the University of Ghana with a Bachelor of Science in Administration.
The graduation ceremony was held on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, with hundreds of other students also receiving their degrees.
The celebrated dancer shared her academic achievement on social media and posted beautiful photos of herself in her graduation attire.
Source: YEN.com.gh
