On a Saturday at Kennedy Space Center, amid an air show celebrating flight and exploration, NASA opened the door to a new generation of astronauts, inviting applications until December 3. The call arrives because the work ahead has outgrown the people available to do it: with only 32 active astronauts, the agency is preparing to carry human presence beyond low-Earth orbit, a project that began in earnest with the April flyaround of the Artemis II crew. It is a reminder that every return to the Moon is built slowly, by people who will mostly labor far from the spotlight, long before any of them
NASA Opens Applications for New Astronaut Class to Grow Artemis Lunar Program
On a Saturday at Kennedy Space Center, amid an air show celebrating flight and exploration, NASA opened the door to a new generation of astronauts, inviting applications until December 3. The call arrives because the work ahead has outgrown the people available to do it: with only 32 active astronauts, the agency is preparing to carry human presence beyond low-Earth orbit, a project that began in earnest with the April flyaround of the Artemis II crew. It is a reminder that every return to the Moon is built slowly, by people who will mostly labor far from the spotlight, long before any of them sees the lunar surface.
On Saturday, at a Kennedy Space Center air show built to celebrate lunar exploration alongside aviation and technology, NASA announced it is looking for new astronauts. Applications are open now and close December 3. The goal is to strengthen the Artemis program, which aims to return people to the Moon and help build a permanent base there.
This is NASA's first call for astronauts in two years. The last one drew more than 8,000 applicants, and only 10 were chosen in September 2025. Even with them, the agency has just 32 active astronauts, and it wants more as it pushes to extend human presence beyond low-Earth orbit. The urgency followed April's Artemis II lunar flyaround. Artemis III commander Randy Bresnik put it simply: "We have far more work than we have astronauts."
The timeline is long. Final selection is expected by late 2027, with training beginning in early 2028, the year astronauts are meant to return to the lunar surface after more than half a century. Bresnik urged applicants not to wait, promising that by then "we're going to have people on the moon."
Next summer, Bresnik and his crew will fly Artemis III, a mission that stays near Earth and rehearses docking with lunar landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin. It sets up Artemis IV, which will attempt a landing near the lunar south pole the following year. Applicants must be U.S. citizens with college degrees and professional experience. Crewmate Frank Rubio, who holds the U.S. endurance record of 371 consecutive days in space, cautioned that patience matters as much as talent. Training takes two years and may be followed by several more before a flight. Most of the job, he said, is not the Moon itself. That part is about 1% of the experience. The rest is the work of getting there.
On Saturday, at an air show at Kennedy Space Center meant to promote lunar exploration along with advances in aviation and technology, NASA officials announced that the agency is looking for new astronauts. Applications are open now and close Dec. 3. The goal is to add people to the Artemis program, which aims to put astronauts back on the moon and help build a permanent base there.
This is NASA's first call for astronauts in two years. The last one drew more than 8,000 applicants, and 10 of them made the final cut in September 2025. Even with that class, the agency has only 32 active astronauts, and it wants more as it works to extend human presence beyond low-Earth orbit as quickly as it can. The push follows April's lunar flyaround by the Artemis II crew, which opened the agency's lunar campaign.
Artemis III commander Randy Bresnik put the problem plainly when he spoke with The Associated Press on Saturday: "We have far more work than we have astronauts."
The schedule is long. NASA expects to make its final selection by late 2027, and the new candidates would begin training by early 2028. That is the same year the agency intends to return astronauts to the lunar surface, after an absence of more than half a century. Bresnik told prospective applicants that by then "we're going to have people on the moon," and urged them not to wait.
Bresnik and his three crewmates will launch next summer on Artemis III. Their mission will stay close to Earth, with no lunar flyby. They will practice docking their capsule with two lunar landers, one built by Elon Musk's SpaceX and the other by Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin. The flight is a dress rehearsal for Artemis IV the following year, which will attempt to land two astronauts near the lunar south pole.
Applicants must be U.S. citizens with college degrees and professional work experience. Artemis III crew member Frank Rubio, who holds the U.S. endurance record of 371 consecutive days in space, stressed that patience matters just as much. The mandatory training lasts two years and can be grueling, and it may take several more years after that before a new astronaut actually flies.
Rubio told the AP that candidates should understand that most of the job is not going to the moon. By his estimate, that part will be about 1% of the experience. The rest, he said, is contributing to the mission of getting there.
The window to apply runs until Dec. 3. After that, the selection process stretches through late 2027, with training set to begin in early 2028, the year NASA aims to land astronauts on the moon.
Quer a matéria completa?
Leia o original em SFGATE ↗
Science & Space