NASA Introduces New Generation of Astronauts: Future Moon Explorers

NASA announced Monday at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, the 24th class of astronauts in its history - the first since 2021. The 10 candidates, five women and five men, were selected from an impressive group of more than 8,000 applicants. Officials of the American agency emphasized that the selection process was extremely competitive, but the result is "a group of exceptional individuals who will inspire the entire planet,” as Norm Knight, NASA's director of flight operations, said.

Intensive training for historic missions

According to space.com, the new astronaut candidates (called ASCANs) are preparing to begin a complex training, which includes lessons in spaceflight, spacewalk techniques, engineering and survival. Their training program lasts about two years, during which NASA will launch the Artemis 3 mission - the first to return humans to the Moon in more than half a century. Although too inexperienced for Artemis 3, members of the new class will have the chance to participate in future essential missions: from establishing a sustainable presence on the Moon, to exploring the Red Planet or living aboard commercial space stations.

The selection includes an impressive variety of experiences: test pilots with thousands of flight hours, engineers in key roles at companies like SpaceX, geologists who have worked on Mars missions and medical specialists with military training. Among them are:

Ben Bailey - military pilot, with over 2,000 hours of flight time; Lauren A. Edgar - geologist involved in the Martian rover missions; Rebecca Lawler - former "hurricane hunter” pilot and test pilot; Anna Menon - biomedical engineer, participant in the private Polaris Dawn mission; Imelda Muller - an anesthesiologist with experience in training Navy divers; and other specialists in the aerospace, medical and engineering fields.

The diversity and level of expertise of the team confirm NASA's goal of creating a generation of astronauts capable of meeting the challenges of long-term space exploration.

• Artemis - the road to the Moon and Mars

The Artemis program, officially launched in 2017, is NASA's flagship project for space exploration in the coming decades. Following the success of the Artemis 1 mission (2022), in which the Orion capsule flew around the Moon without a crew, Artemis 2 is next - a manned flight scheduled for 2026. The mission will last 10 days and will include four astronauts: Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian Jeremy Hansen, the first non-US astronaut to fly to the Moon. They will become the first people to approach Earth's natural satellite since 1972, but without landing on the Moon.

Artemis 3, scheduled for 2027, will mark the return of humans to the lunar surface, paving the way for future manned missions to Mars.

• Rivalry with China and the Future of Exploration

NASA emphasizes that the goal is not just to return to the Moon, but to stay there, developing a sustainable infrastructure that will allow for the jump to Mars. At the same time, the US is closely watching China's plans to send astronauts to the moon by 2030. "We are going back to the moon - this time to stay. From what we learn there, we will go to Mars and even beyond," said Sean Duffy, acting administrator of NASA.

• A generation prepared for the unknown

The new class of astronaut candidates marks the beginning of a new era for NASA and for space exploration. While some of them will be the first to live on commercial stations in low Earth orbit, others could leave their first footprints on Martian soil.

Regardless of their destination, they all have the same role: to make humanity's ambitious plans to step beyond the limits of Earth a reality.