STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Kaitlyn Farrington seemed to escape earth’s boundaries as she jumped and spun her way to an Olympic gold medal in the women’s halfpipe in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

Now the Sun Valley snowboarder could go into orbit again as a crew member for the first civilian flight around the moon.

Farrington, who grew up on a ranch south of Bellevue, has been selected as a backup crew member for the dearMoon lunar tourism mission, which plans to launch in 2023. She was selected from more than a million applications worldwide.

Farrington, now 33, is one of two backup members who could step in if one of eight selected crew members backs out. She posted on a YouTube video that she wants to be the storyteller of the mission, and be somebody that’s relatable for people coming from an athlete perspective.

“I remember the day I won my Olympic gold medal and my feelings about it not seeming like real life,” Farrington wrote on Instagram. “This is pretty similar! I am beyond excited to be part of this mission as a backup crew member. I can’t wait for what’s in store!”

The civilian flight is the project of Japanese billionaire and art collector Yusaku Maezawa and will involve a SpaceX Starship on a six-day tour.

Farrington will undergo training and preparation alongside her nine colleagues that will prepare her for the inaugural trip and future trips.

Farrington made the U.S. Snowboard Team at 17 and seemed poised for a long career after winning gold in snowboard halfpipe at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

 She returned home to Sun Valley where she waved at fans from a fire engine as it made its way through the valley. Sun Valley Resort renamed Farout Bowl Kaitlyn’s Way in her honor, and the Blaine County Recreation District named a slice of the Wood River Trail bike path at Bellevue’s south end in her honor.

But at 25 she was forced to retire from competitive snowboarding after doctors discovered she had a degenerative spine condition that put her at increased risk for paralysis should she injure herself competing in such a high-impact sport.

“I’m still able to snowboard. I guess I just can’t do high-impact snowboarding,” she told Eye on Sun Valley. “I cannot hit jumps. I cannot hit rails. I cannot jump off of things. I cannot leave the ground pretty much.”

Farrington’s moon launch crew members include:

• Steve Aoki, a Miami DJ who has released Billboard-charting studio albums and collaborated with the Backstreet Boys
• Tim Dodd, a YouTube content creator who interviewed SpaceX founder Elon Musk on his channel Everyday Astronaut
• Karim Iliya, a Hawaii photographer whose work has been featured in National Geographic Magazine
• Brendan Hall, an American filmmaker whose two-hour documentary “Blood Sugar Rising” focuses on diabetes
• Yemi A.D., a Czech Republic choreographer who has worked with Ye, aka Kanye West
• Rhiannon Adam, an Irish photographer who has worked with BBC Royal Geographical Society

* Dev Joshi, an Indian TV actor

* T.O.P., a rapper and member of the Korean band BIGBANG

* Miyu, a Japanese dancer who will be the backup crew member with Farrington.