NASA selects 10 for Astronaut Training, Including First Orbiting Veteran
HOUSTON – NASA announced Monday its 24th class of astronaut candidates, a diverse group of ten individuals poised to contribute to the agency’s aspiring Artemis program and future missions to mars. Notably, this class includes the first person to have previously orbited Earth before joining NASA’s astronaut corps.
The selection,made from a pool of over 8,000 applicants during a recruitment process that began in March 2024,marks a significant step in NASA’s ongoing efforts to expand its human spaceflight capabilities. The new trainees – four men and six women – will undergo two years of intensive training at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, preparing them for potential missions to low-Earth orbit, the Moon, and ultimately, Mars. This class is the first in NASA history to have more women than men.
“We picked the best and the brightest,the most skilled,the best looking,the best personalities to take these 10 spots,” said Sean Duffy,acting NASA administrator and secretary of transportation. “You are America’s best and brightest, and we’re going to need America’s best and brightest because we have bold exploration plans for the future.” Duffy emphasized the agency’s commitment to a sustained presence on the Moon as a stepping stone for deeper space exploration. “we are going back to the Moon, and this time we’re going to stay. And from what we learn on our missions to the Moon, we’re going to go to Mars, and we’re going to go beyond, into the unkown.”
The new astronaut candidates are: Ben Bailey, Lauren Edgar, Adam Fuhrmann, Cameron jones, Yuri Kubo, rebecca Lawler, Anna Menon, Imelda Muller, Erin Overcash, and katherine Spies. Among them is Anna Menon, who previously flew on spacex’s Crew Dragon Inspiration4 mission, becoming the first person to orbit Earth before being selected as a NASA astronaut.
NASA’s director of Flight Operations Norm Knight and his deputy director, astronaut Kjell Lindgren, introduced the candidates during a ceremony at the Johnson Space Center.NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya and Johnson space Center Director Vanessa Wyche also spoke at the event.
