NASA opened applications for its 25th astronaut class, marking the agency's first recruitment in two years. The announcement came at the Max Power event at Kennedy Space Center. Applications close December 3, 2026, with selection expected in late 2027.
The new astronauts will train for low Earth orbit operations, lunar surface missions, and future Artemis flights. Only 370 people have been selected as NASA astronaut candidates since 1959, when the Mercury 7 were announced.
Applicants must be US citizens with a master's degree in a STEM field and at least three years of related professional experience after completing that degree. Pilots can qualify instead with at least 1,000 hours of pilot-in-command time, including at least 850 hours in high-performance jet aircraft. All candidates must pass NASA's long-duration spaceflight astronaut physical.
The master's degree requirement can also be met by two years of work toward a STEM doctorate, completion of a medical degree, or completion of an accredited test pilot school program. Applications submit through USAJobs.gov.
NASA's most recent class, the 24th, was announced in 2025 with ten new candidates. That class marked the first time women outnumbered men in a NASA astronaut class. One of the 24th class members, Dr. Anna Menon, became the first NASA astronaut candidate to have already flown to space on a commercial mission, Polaris Dawn. "I pinched myself when I found out that I got to join this class and get to return to the team here at NASA," Menon said.
Each new astronaut group receives a nickname from the previous class. Astronaut Class 23 named the 2025 group the "Platypi." The incoming class has not yet been assigned a nickname.