— Christina Koch was never in jeopardy while traveling farther into space than any person (other than her three crewmates) had gone before. No, for that, she had to wait until she was back from the moon.

The NASA astronaut and Artemis II mission specialist (remember that, you will need it later) had a category dedicated to her career as part of Friday's (Sept. 4) episode of Jeopardy! Masters. The game's outcome decided who out of the show's highest-ranked current champions was going on to compete for a chance to win $500,000, the Trebek Trophy and title of Jeopardy! Masters Champion.

"Christina Koch, Spacewoman" was one of the six categories in Friday's Double Jeopardy! round (where points are doubled). Koch, herself, appeared via a recorded video clip, presenting each clue instead of host and former champion Ken Jennings.

"I'm Christina Koch, when you watched me and my Artemis II crewmates splash down in April 2026, what you didn't know was I was bringing you back clues about space and space travel," Koch said in an introduction to the category. She wore her NASA flight suit standing in front of a photo of "Earthset" — our home planet receding behind the horizon of the moon — as was captured on the first crewed mission to flyby the moon in more than 50 years.

"Christina even took the photo that we saw behind her there!" said Jennings.

The first clue chosen to open the category was worth $1200.

"My Artemis II crewmates and I named our Orion spacecraft this, embodying the trust, respect, candor and humility among thousands of people involved in the mission's success," said Koch as a photo of an earlier Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft, as flown on the uncrewed Artemis I mission in 2022, was briefly shown on the front screen.

The clue stumped all three players.

"It was called 'Integrity,'" said Jennings.

Next up, after clearing all of the other categories' high value clues, was $1600 in Koch's "Spacewoman."

"After 328 days aboard the international Space Station, I finally rode back to Earth alongside two crewmates in a Soyuz capsule, making a happy landing in the snowy grasslands of this former Soviet country," she said, referring to her first spaceflight that ended on June 2, 2020.

"What is Kazakhstan?" buzzed in Andrew He, a 29-year-old software engineer and stay-at-home dad, with the the correct answer.

He then chose the category's $2000 clue.

"On Earth, solar eclipses last only a few minutes. On the far side of the moon, we saw the sun blotted out for much longer," said Koch. "with this eight-letter period of complete darkness lasting nearly an hour."

Crosswords editor Paolo Pasco, 26, had the answer with "What is 'totality'?" His next pick was the $800 clue.

"For Artemis II, Reid Wiseman served as commander and Victor Glover as pilot. Trained in those roles and additional duties Jeremy Hansen and I served as this position, abbreviated 'M.S.,' said Koch.

This time it was 42-year-old Yogesh Raut, a podcaster, freelance writer and educational blogger, who gave the correct question, "What is mission specialist?"

The $200 entry in "Spacewoman" also wrapped up the Double Jeopardy! round.

"And here with the final clue, spacewoman Christina Koch," said Jennings.

"In 2019, Jessica Meir and I spent more than seven hours doing repairs outside of the International Space Station on the first-ever all-female spacewalk, more formally known as this," she said.

Andrew was first to buzz in. "What is extravehicular activity?" he asked correctly.

Since returning from the moon five months ago, Koch and her three Artemis II crewmates have traveled across the country and abroad to share their adventure with the public. They have also made numerous TV appearances. In addition to Jeopardy!, Koch threw a ceremonial first pitch at a Philadelphia Phillies baseball game and recently returned from a multi-day visit to her alma mater, North Carolina State University.

She and her three crewmates have also been to White House and to the Office of the Prime Minister in Canada (Hansen flew on Artemis II representing the Canadian Space Agency); they have traveled to NASA facilities to express their gratitude to the space agency's workforce; and appeared together on Good Morning America, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, CBS Mornings and the Today Show, as well as were interviewed by Oprah Winfrey for her podcast.

Koch is not the first astronaut to appear on Jeopardy! Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin and astronaut-turned-Arizona Senator Mark Kelly were contestants on Celebrity Jeopardy! in 1996 and 2015, respectively. And like Koch, Kate Rubins appeared by video to deliver clues about the International Space Station in 2021.