NASA has announced the composition of the 24th astronaut class — the first since 2021 year. They entered it 10 candidates: five men and five women, selected from more than 8 000 Applications. The presentation took place 22 September at the Johnson Space Center.
Preparation and tasks
Candidates will undergo a two-year training, which will cover flight training, exits into outer space, engineering disciplines and other necessary skills. They will not participate in the Artemis mission 3, which aims to return man to the moon, however, in the future, this class may become the basis for long-duration missions on the surface of the Moon and for preparation for flights to Mars.
Some of the candidates may join the new phase of research in low Earth orbit. International Space Station (ISS) will complete work approximately in 2030-2031, and NASA plans to move its activities in LEO to commercial orbital stations, which are currently being developed by Blue Origin, Axiom Space та Vast Space. So, new astronauts can become the first representatives of NASA, which will work on private space facilities.
Composition of the class 2025 year
- Ben Bailey, 38 years, military test pilot of the US Army, has over 2 000 flight hours.
- Lauren Edgar, 40 years, geology, over 17 has been working with NASA's Mars rovers for years, participated in the Artemis team 3 Geology.
- Adam Fuhrmann, 35 years, Major in the US Air Force, aerospace engineer, test pilot from 2 100 hours of flight, in particular combat.
- Cameron Jones, 35 years, Major in the US Air Force, test pilot with over 1 600 hours of flight, including military.
- Yuri Kubo, 40 years, engineer, over 12 worked at SpaceX for years, notably as director of Falcon launches 9, most recently Vice President of Engineering at Electric Hydrogen.
- Rebecca Lawler, 38 years, former test pilot of the US Navy, has over 2 800 flight hours, experience "Hurricane Hunter" and working for United Airlines.
- Anna Menon, 39 years, biomedical engineer, worked at the Flight Control Center, in 2024 flew into space on the Polaris Dawn mission (the first private spacewalk).
- Imelda Muller, 34 years, former officer of the US Navy, anesthesiologist, worked at NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory.
- Erin Overkash, 34 years, test pilot of the US Navy, has over 1 300 flight hours, over 200 landing on an aircraft carrier, participated in the Navy World Class Athlete program.
- Catherine Spice, 43 years, chemical engineer and test pilot of the US Marine Corps, has over 2 000 flight hours, most recently Director of Flight Test at Gulfstream Aerospace.
Source: https://www.space.com