The universe is calling, and NASA is answering with a new generation of explorers. The space agency is actively seeking more astronauts to man upcoming space stations, journey to the Moon, and perhaps even set foot on Mars.
Just this past Monday, NASA proudly introduced its 10 newest astronaut candidates, individuals who aspire to make these incredible journeys in the years ahead:
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Ben Bailey, 38, from Charlottesville, Virginia
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Lauren Edgar, 40, from Sammamish, Washington
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Adam Fuhrmann, 35, from Leesburg, Virginia
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Cameron Jones, 35, from Savanna, Illinois
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Yuri Kubo, 40, from Columbus, Indiana
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Rebecca Lawler, 38, from Little Elm, Texas
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Anna Menon, 39, from Houston
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Imelda Muller, 34, from Copake Falls, New York
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Erin Overcash, 34, from Goshen, Kentucky
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Katherine Spies, 43, from San Diego
Among these exceptional individuals is Anna Menon, an engineer from SpaceX, who has already experienced low-Earth orbit as part of the private Polaris Dawn mission last year, utilizing a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. Alongside her crewmate Sarah Gillis, Menon holds an impressive record for the highest altitude ever achieved by a female astronaut. Interestingly, she follows in the footsteps of her husband, Anil, who was part of NASA’s previous astronaut class selected in 2021.
During the Monday ceremony at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Sean Duffy, the acting NASA administrator, shared his excitement: “One of these 10 could actually be one of the first Americans to put their boots on the Mars surface, which is very, very cool.”
A significant highlight of this new group is that six of the 10 astronaut candidates are women, marking the first time in NASA’s history that women have outnumbered men in a selected class.
Senator Ted Cruz of Texas acknowledged this important shift, especially as a father to two teenage daughters. He stated, “I’m particularly proud of all the women here, and the fact that with Artemis, America is going to put the first woman on the surface of the moon in the history of mankind.”
The new class boasts diverse backgrounds: seven of the 10 candidates have military service, including four of the six women. Three have prior experience working with NASA, and two are medical doctors. Erin Overcash, a Navy pilot, even trained with the U.S. women’s rugby team, while Yuri Kubo, an engineer at a hydrogen energy company, was a professional ultimate Frisbee player in Indianapolis.
These individuals are currently “astronaut candidates” and will undergo two years of rigorous training to become fully qualified astronauts. Their training includes practicing spacewalks in a 60-foot-deep swimming pool at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston and learning to pilot NASA’s T-38 jet planes.
Given Russia’s role as NASA’s primary partner on the International Space Station, these candidates will also be learning Russian, a crucial skill for international collaboration in space.
While stays at the International Space Station remain a common assignment, NASA’s ambitions are now reaching much further with the Artemis program. This initiative, first announced during a previous administration, aims to return American astronauts to the lunar surface. The Artemis II mission, slated for early next year, will see four astronauts journey around the Moon before returning to Earth, without a landing.
This mission will be the first human trip beyond low-Earth orbit since the Apollo moon landings concluded in 1972.
Artemis III, currently anticipated for 2027 (though a shift to 2028 or later is possible), plans to land two NASA astronauts in the Moon’s south polar region. Looking even further ahead, initial trips to Mars are projected to begin no earlier than the 2030s.
Even after the International Space Station is expected to retire in 2030, NASA astronauts will continue to operate in low-Earth orbit. They will transition to working on commercial space stations currently under development. Additionally, NASA is developing an orbiting lunar outpost called Gateway, which will serve as a vital waypoint for future lunar surface missions.
NASA typically recruits new astronaut classes every few years. The very first group, selected in 1959, consisted of seven military pilots for Project Mercury. This new cohort represents NASA’s 24th class of astronauts.
Notably, this class was selected after Donald J. Trump resumed the presidency in January, a period during which the federal government, including NASA, had largely dismantled its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
The application period for this astronaut class began a year and a half prior, during the Biden administration. At that time, NASA actively sought a broad and diverse pool of applicants, receiving approximately 8,000 applications.
April Jordan, who oversaw the selection process at the time, and Victor Glover, an astronaut assigned to Artemis II, undertook a media campaign to highlight the diversity among NASA’s astronauts. Both Ms. Jordan and Mr. Glover are Black.
Ms. Jordan was quoted emphasizing, “We want the group of astronaut candidates that we select to be reflective of the nation that they’re representing.”