Aged 16, Christina Birch first found the intensity and sheer joy of an adrenaline rush rafting down the Desolation Canyon. The experience left the youngster chasing more of it as she continued on her path ahead. MIT cycling team, Pan American, World Cups, Championships, and numerous heights more came in the seek for Christina until she decided to soar farther ahead as an astronaut.

While her cycling feats define Christina Birch the best, science has been the primary domain stirring her narrative behind the scenes. Hence, when the opportunity arrived to combine her quench for rush and science, the Olympian grabbed the opportunity to add a remarkable feather to her hat.

National cycling team beams in pride

On December 6th, 2021, Christina Birch was announced as a member of NASA’s next class of astronaut candidates. “It’s such a shock,” she had said after surpassing 12,000 applicants to claim her spot. Now, after two years of absolute excitement as evidenced by her social media, USA Cycling proudly announced Birch has graduated as of today. “Christina Birch graduated as a NASA Astronaut this week!” the post on X exclaimed. The team further explained that Birch is “now officially an astronaut and is eligible to go to space!” 

Christina Birch had previously revealed that her favorite movie was Interstellar and has loved exploring since she was a kid. However, it wasn’t until she started college and beyond, working in the lab that she realized she could contribute to the space programs. Stemming from there, the cycling star persisted in her research to ultimately fetch herself a spot in the NASA astronaut program.

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Christina, who loved adventures and analyzing her puzzles, studied both mathematics and biochemistry as an undergraduate at the University of Arizona. She further earned her Ph.D. in biological engineering from MIT researching technology for malaria. This also happened to be where Birch found her love for cycling which unintentionally led her to the pedestal she stands on today.

Intertwining of Christina’s interests

Christina Birch’s cycling excellence isn’t lost on many. The Olympian has accumulated numerous sporting pursuits to her name across seven years of her career. The experience of this successful journey, Birch reveals has helped shape a few skills to persist as an astronaut. “I was trying to be at the cutting edge of the sport, going faster than anyone… Very similarly, NASA’s mission is trying to advance human spaceflight and going further than we’ve ever gone,” she remarks.

Christina further shares that, teamwork that was ever-so-necessary in cycling would prove to be an excellent element as an astronaut. The ability to think on one’s feet and to think together lay common to both worlds and the Olympian remains grateful for the parallels.

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