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NASA Names 10 New Astronaut Candidates, Its First Majority-Women Class

Two years of training now begin, with flight assignments to the ISS or Artemis still to be determined.

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NASA’s astronaut candidate class is tougher to crack than Harvard or Stanford.
US Sen. Ted Cruz, right, makes comments as the astronaut candidate class of 2025 is introduced during a ceremony at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Monday, Sept. 22, 2025.
FILE - Workers on scaffolding repaint the NASA logo near the top of the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., May 20, 2020. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

Overview

  • The 24th class was selected from more than 8,000 applicants and introduced at Johnson Space Center in Houston.
  • The group spans test pilots, engineers, a geologist, and a physician, with backgrounds across the military, NASA, and the private sector.
  • Anna Menon, a 2024 Polaris Dawn crew member, is the first NASA astronaut candidate with prior orbital experience.
  • After two years of basic training, the candidates will join the active corps and become eligible for missions to low-Earth orbit, the Moon, and eventually Mars.
  • NASA’s shrinking workforce and plans to retire the ISS in the early 2030s could influence how many near-term flight slots are available for the new class.