NASA's New Astronaut Class Has More Women Than Men For First Time In History

NASA has selected its next round of astronaut candidates, or ASCANs, from a pool of 8,000 candidates. The final selection of six women and four men will endure two years of notoriously intense training before being eligible for flight missions, which could take them to low-Earth orbit, the Moon, or even Mars.

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The selection, NASA's 24th astronaut class, is notable for being the first in NASA history (since the first women ASCANs in 1978) where women candidates outnumber the men, and for being the pool that will feed the planned Artemis mission. In this group of trainees, we could be seeing the first woman to set foot on the Moon, and the first humans on Mars.

“We will continue to beat the Chinese in low Earth orbit, and with all of the learning from going to the Moon, from Gateway, from the ISS, we will go to Mars. And the first boot that ever sets foot on the surface of the Red Planet will be an American astronaut, and could well be one of the boots right here," Senator Ted Cruz said during the 2025 NASA astronaut candidate announcement.

"And I have to admit, as a girl dad, with two teenage girls, age 14 and 17, I am particularly proud of all the women here, and the fact that through Artemis, America is going to put the first woman on the surface of the Moon in the history of mankind.”

The ASCANs began their training at NASA Johnson in mid-September, learning a wide range of skills that could be necessary for missions to the International Space Station (ISS), the Moon, and Mars.

"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," NASA explains. As part of the training, the ASCANs will learn Russian, ahead of possible deployment to the ISS.

This year, one of the ASCANs has a little head start on space experience. Anna Menon is the first-ever astronaut candidate to have already left the Earth's atmosphere in SpaceX's 2024 Polaris Dawn mission. 

During that flight, which included the first-ever private spacewalk, Menon and colleague Sarah Gillis set a new record for the furthest from Earth that a woman has ever traveled. 

Menon has previously worked as a senior engineer at SpaceX, as well as in mission control at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. She may also have more of an idea of how grueling training will be, as her husband Anil Menon went through it in 2021. They are the fourth married couple to serve as active members of NASA's astronaut corps.

The full list of the 2025 candidates is:

• Ben Bailey, 38, from Charlottesville, Va.
• Lauren Edgar, 40, from Sammamish, Wa.
• Adam Fuhrmann, 35, from Leesburg, Va.
• Cameron Jones, 35, from Savanna, Il.
• Yuri Kubo, 40, from Columbus, In.
• Rebecca Lawler, 38, from Little Elm, Texas
• Anna Menon, 39, from Houston
• Dr. Imelda Muller 34, from Copake Falls, N.Y.
• Erin Overcash, 34, from Goshen, Ky.
• Katherine Spies, 43, from San Diego, Ca.

The ASCANs include seven candidates with a military background, three who have previously worked at NASA, and 10 who have science or engineering experience. The crew also includes a geologist, something that will surely be useful as we return to the Moon and head beyond.

"[Lauren] Edgar has served as the deputy principal investigator for the Artemis III Geology Team. In this role, she helped define lunar science goals, geology activities NASA astronauts will conduct, and science operations for NASA’s return to the Moon," NASA explained of the candidate. "She also spent more than 17 years supporting Mars exploration rovers. She was working at the U.S. Geological Survey at the time of her selection."

As you might expect, the ASCANS also have significant flight experience, with six candidates flying for the US Navy and Air Force. After training is complete, they may get to fly a little higher.

“I’m honored to welcome the next generation of American explorers to our agency! 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,” acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy said.

“Together, we’ll unlock the Golden Age of exploration.”