Meet the astronauts who could be heading to the moon, or even Mars

By Trevor Mogg Published September 23, 2025

NASA has introduced its newest astronaut selections for the next era of space exploration.

At a special event at the Johnson Space Center in Houston on Monday, the American space agency unveiled the 10 individuals who beat off competition from around 8,000 applicants.

Notably, the intake for the first time includes more women than men, and one member of the group, Anna Menon, has already been to orbit as part of a private mission, marking another first first. Menon flew with billionaire Jared Isaacman on the SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission last year, which made history with the first-ever private spacewalk.

Aged from 34 to 40, one or more of this year’s intake could be among the first humans to visit the moon as part of the NASA’s Artemis program. The first of the missions to return humans to the moon for the first time in five decades is Artemis III, which is currently scheduled to launch no earlier than 2027, though that date could slip. Some of these astronauts could even fly to Mars on the first human mission to the red planet.

Acting NASA chief Sean Duffy welcomed the all-American group.

“I’m honored to welcome the next generation of American explorers to our agency,” Duffy said. “More than 8,000 people applied — scientists, pilots, engineers, dreamers from every corner of this nation. The 10 men and women sitting here today embody the truth that in America, regardless of where you start, there is no limit to what a determined dreamer can achieve — even going to space.”

Announced every four years or so, the agency’s latest astronaut class — the 24th in its history — reported for duty at NASA Johnson last week to start two years of intense training.

NASA said the curriculum includes “instruction and skills development for complex operations aboard the International Space Station (ISS), Artemis missions to the moon, and beyond. Specifically, training includes robotics, land and water survival, geology, foreign language, space medicine and physiology, and more, while also conducting simulated spacewalks and flying high-performance jets.”

Once they’ve graduated, the 2025 class will join the agency’s active astronaut corps and wait for placements on ISS and Artemis missions.