The future of space exploration demands new heroes, and NASA is stepping up its recruitment to staff upcoming missions to space stations, the Moon, and potentially even Mars.
This Monday, the space agency proudly unveiled its 10 newest recruits, each hoping to play a pivotal role in these ambitious future endeavors:
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Ben Bailey, 38, Charlottesville, Va.
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Lauren Edgar, 40, Sammamish, Wa.
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Adam Fuhrmann, 35, Leesburg, Va.
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Cameron Jones, 35, Savanna, Il.
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Yuri Kubo, 40, Columbus, In.
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Rebecca Lawler, 38, Little Elm, Texas
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Anna Menon, 39, Houston
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Imelda Muller 34, Copake Falls, N.Y.
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Erin Overcash, 34, Goshen, Ky.
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Katherine Spies, 43, San Diego
Among this exceptional group is Anna Menon, an engineer from SpaceX, who already boasts experience in low-Earth orbit. She was a crew member on last year’s private Polaris Dawn mission, utilizing a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. Alongside her crewmate Sarah Gillis, Menon achieved the record for the highest altitude ever reached by a female astronaut. Intriguingly, her husband, Anil, was also selected in the previous astronaut class of 2021.
During Monday’s ceremony at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Sean Duffy, the acting NASA administrator, expressed his excitement: “One of these 10 could actually be among the first Americans to step foot on Mars, which is incredibly cool.”
Notably, six of the ten astronaut candidates are women, marking a historic moment as this is the first time women have constituted the majority in a NASA astronaut class.
This significant shift was highlighted by Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who proudly noted the milestone as a father to two teenage daughters.
He added, “I’m particularly proud of all the women here, and the fact that with Artemis, America is poised to land the first woman on the Moon’s surface in human history.”
This accomplished group includes a strong military presence, with seven members having served, four of whom are women. Three candidates bring prior NASA experience, and two are medical doctors. Among them, Ms. Overcash is a Navy pilot who trained with the U.S. women’s rugby team, while Mr. Kubo, an engineer specializing in hydrogen energy, was a professional ultimate Frisbee player in Indianapolis.
These individuals are officially designated as “astronaut candidates,” embarking on a rigorous two-year training program to become fully qualified astronauts. Their preparation will include simulating spacewalks in a 60-foot-deep pool at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston and mastering the controls of NASA’s T-38 jet planes.
As Russia remains a key partner on the International Space Station, learning Russian will also be a crucial part of their curriculum.
Currently, the most frequent assignment for NASA astronauts involves extended stays aboard the International Space Station.
However, NASA’s ambitions are reaching new heights with the Artemis program. Initiated during the first Trump administration, this program aims to return American astronauts to the lunar surface. The Artemis II mission, set for early next year, will see four astronauts undertake a journey around the Moon, returning to Earth without landing.
This will mark the first time any astronauts venture beyond low-Earth orbit since the conclusion of the Apollo Moon landings in 1972.
Artemis III, tentatively planned for 2027 (though likely to be delayed until 2028 or beyond), intends to land two NASA astronauts in the Moon’s south polar region. Looking even further ahead, Mars beckons as a potential destination, with the first human missions not expected before the 2030s.
Even after the International Space Station’s anticipated retirement in 2030, NASA astronauts will maintain a presence in low-Earth orbit, collaborating on new commercial space stations under development. Additionally, NASA is designing Gateway, an orbital outpost around the Moon, which will serve as a crucial staging point for lunar surface missions.
NASA typically opens astronaut applications every few years. The very first group, selected in 1959 for Project Mercury, consisted of seven military pilots. This new class marks NASA’s 24th selection of astronauts.
This selection occurred following Donald J. Trump’s return to the presidency in January, a period during which the federal government, including NASA, scaled back many of its diversity initiatives.
The application window for this astronaut class opened approximately eighteen months prior, during the Biden administration. At that time, NASA actively pursued a broad range of candidates, attracting around 8,000 applicants.
During the application period, April Jordan, then NASA’s selection process lead, and Victor Glover, an astronaut slated for Artemis II, engaged in a media campaign to highlight the diverse representation within NASA’s astronaut corps. Both Jordan and Glover are Black.
“We want the group of astronaut candidates that we select to be reflective of the nation that they’re representing,” Ms. Jordan stated in an interview at the time.