American astronaut Christina Koch, the first woman to travel to the Moon, in the famous Artemis II mission in April 2026, has been awarded the Princess of Asturias Award for Concord, a prestigious award in Spain that, by its definition, recognises people or organisations that promote and protect peace, freedom, solidarity, world heritage and, in general, the progress of humanity.
Koch's "remarkable personal achievements have helped push the boundaries of human endeavour", the Jury said on Wednesday. Koch is also the woman that has spent the longest continuous time in space, when she spent 328 consecutive days between 2019 and 2020 in the International Space Station.
Two months ago, she was part of the Artemis II mission, humanity's first travel back to the Moon (only the orbit) since 1972. In the mission, Koch famously said the words "Houston, it's wonderful to hear from Earth again" after spending 41 minutes in radio silence.
The Princess of Asturias Awards are given each year in October, in a special ceremony hosted by the Royal Family of Spain. Besides the sculpture by Joan Miró, it consists of a 50,000 euros prize. Former winners of the Princess of Asturias Award for Concord include the National Museum of Anthropology of Mexico, the European Union, the Spanish Organization for the Blind (ONCE) or Spanish health workers during Covid-19.