2021 NASA astronaut candidate speaks with Gilbert High students
Update: March 5, 2024
Christina (Chris) Birch graduated from NASA's Astronaut Training program on March 5, 2024! Students at Gilbert High School gathered to watch and celebrate Chris' achievement. Congratulations Chris! Gilbert High School and the rest of the Gilbert Public Schools family are proud of you!
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Some children dream of becoming an astronaut and going to outer space, but that wasn’t necessarily the case for Christina Birch. The Mesa native and 2004 Gilbert High School graduate applied to NASA’s Astronaut Selection Program nearly two years ago while in the midst of a major life change.
“So things weren’t looking great for me,” Birch said.
At the time, the professional cyclist was living at the Olympic Training Center and preparing to participate in a final selection camp. She was one of seven cyclists who hoped to represent the U.S. in the Tokyo Olympics, but that day wouldn’t come. The games were postponed, and Birch was left trying to figure out her next step. While sitting in her dorm room one day, she decided to apply to become an astronaut.
“I filled out all of my psych evaluations at that desk. I wrote up my paragraph about why I was different from other applicants at that desk, and I sent it off,” she said.
Birch didn’t hear back for another year. Her application was one of the few chosen out of 12,000 submitted to go through the first round of interviews. The former astronauts and psychologists were so impressed by her answers that she made it to the second round. Birch was then required to spend a week undergoing a series of tests.
“There were many different psychological, physical, medical, and space-related mechanical tests that you can imagine,” she said.
The experience was an opportunity of a lifetime, and little did Birch know that she would just be getting started. The 35-year-old made it through the process and was selected to be one of 10 new astronaut candidates to represent NASA’s 23rd class. Among those highly-qualified people chosen, Birch was picked to be their class leader.
“I think that’s because I have this history of being both a leader and a follower. I have worked in the lab. I have worked on group projects. I have worked as a team player on a professional cycling team. I think starting early with building familiarity on how to work with different people is huge,” she said.
Now that the new astronaut class has been announced, Birch is passing on some words of wisdom to the younger generation. She recently spoke to students at her alma mater, Gilbert High School, where she shared with them what led her down this path in life.
“It’s kind of a trip to look back at my old high school. I mean it wasn’t that long ago that I was sitting where you guys are sitting,” Birch said to the students.
She stressed the importance of taking advantage of every opportunity presented to them inside and outside of school. She also encouraged the students to spend time identifying what matters most to them.
“I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with my life. It’s important to have some kind of awareness of what’s important to you and what’s not,” she said.
After graduating from Gilbert High School, Birch attended the University of Arizona and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She studied mathematics, biochemistry, molecular biophysics, and biological engineering. Her studies and professional experience will help fuel her astronaut training over the next two years and prepare her for her first mission to space.
“The main objective of Artemis is to go back to the moon, so I’m in the second class of astronaut candidates that are under the Artemis program. All of us are being trained to go to the moon and build a sustainable presence there,” she said.
Birch began her training in January 2022 at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Her life up to this point has been a very unique journey filled with twists and turns, but Birch says she is a risk taker who tries to make the best of what comes her way. She urged the students to do the same.