North Carolina native and NASA astronaut Christina Koch will be awarded Thursday with North Carolina’s highest civilian honor.
She'll be among eight North Carolinians presented with the North Carolina Award, which was created by the General Assembly in 1961 to recognize significant contributions to the state and nation in the fields of fine arts, literature, public service and science.
The awards have been presented annually since 1964 and this year marks the 60th anniversary of the awards ceremony.
Koch was born in Jacksonville, N.C., and is a graduate of the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics and North Carolina State University.
Selected to be a NASA astronaut in 2013, Koch has set the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman with 328 days in space, participated in the first all-female spacewalk, and was a flight engineer on the International Space Station for Expeditions 59 through 61.
Other honorees at Thursday's ceremony will include:
- The Avett Brothers (Scott Avett, Seth Avett and Bob Crawford) for fine arts
- Frank A. Bruni Jr. for Literature
- William Henry Curry for fine arts
- Thomas W. Earnhardt for science
- Dr. Harold L. Martin Sr. for public service
The award ceremony will take place at the Raleigh Marriott City Center. Gov. Roy Cooper will present the awards at a 7 p.m. banquet and ceremony.