Overview
- NASA has opened an application window for a new astronaut class and will accept submissions through December 3, 2026.
- Applicants must be U.S. citizens with a STEM or qualifying medical master’s degree or equivalent, plus at least three years’ relevant experience or 750 flight hours for pilots, and must pass fitness and teamwork assessments.
- The agency plans to screen applications into 2027, hold interviews in spring and summer, announce final selections in late 2027, and begin formal training in winter 2027/2028.
- Selection to the astronaut corps is highly competitive and does not guarantee a flight assignment; many corps duties focus on training, mission support and vehicle development on Earth before any mission placement.
- The intake is explicitly tied to Artemis goals for lunar surface work and a South‑Pole lunar base, and it will rely on commercial partners building landers and systems that determine when and how recruits can fly.