US astronaut Christina Koch has been awarded the 2026 Princess of Asturias Award for Concord, one of Spain's most prestigious honours.
Koch, the first woman to take part in a NASA lunar mission, is an "inspiration for future generations – especially for women – and a symbol of the human capacity to overcome challenges and obstacles through work, collaboration and empathy," the jury said on Wednesday as it revealed this year’s winner in Oviedo in northern Spain.
Koch, 47, from Grand Rapids in Michigan, was a crew member on NASA’s Artemis II mission, which in April marked the return of humans to lunar orbit after more than 50 years. It was the first manned flight to the Moon since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
Previously, in 2019, Koch had taken part, alongside her colleague Jessica Meir, in the first all-female spacewalk in history. She also holds the record for the longest space mission by a woman, at 328 days.
Koch's personal commitment had helped to surpass "a boundary that no woman had crossed before."
The Princess of Asturias Awards, often regarded as Spain's equivalent of the Nobel Prizes, are named after the heir to the Spanish throne and are presented annually in eight categories.
This year's laureates also include Lionel Messi in the Sports category and Patti Smith in the Arts category.
The announcements are spaced out over a span of months.
Each laureate receives €50,000 (some $58,000) and a replica of a statue by Spanish artist Joan Miró. The awards will be presented in Oviedo at the end of October by King Felipe VI and Crown Princess Leonor.
