NASA selects new astronaut class

WASHINGTON — NASA announced its newest class of astronauts Sept. 22 as agency leaders and lawmakers emphasized their intent to return humans to the moon before China.

At a ceremony at Johnson Space Center, NASA introduced the 10 members of the newest astronaut class, formally known as Group 24. The class includes scientists, engineers and pilots, with experience ranging from flying military aircraft in combat to working on the Curiosity Mars rover.

Group 24 stands out in several respects. The six women and four men represent NASA’s first astronaut class with more women than men.

It also includes the first astronaut candidate with prior orbital spaceflight experience. Anna Menon, a SpaceX senior engineer, flew on the Polaris Dawn private astronaut mission a year ago on a Crew Dragon spacecraft. The only other NASA astronaut candidate with prior spaceflight experience was Joe Engle, an X-15 pilot who briefly flew above the 50-mile (80.5-kilometer) altitude the U.S. government recognizes as the boundary of space before joining the astronaut corps.

NASA selected the 10 candidates from a pool of 8,000 applicants. “This selection was challenging, competitive and very difficult,” said Norm Knight, director of flight operations at Johnson. “But what we have for you here today is a group of individuals who are not only exceptional but who will be inspirational for the United States of America and for our planet.”

Among the new astronauts is Lauren Edgar, a planetary scientist at the U.S. Geological Survey. She worked on the Mars Exploration Rovers and Curiosity Mars rover and was part of a team of scientists setting science goals for Artemis 3.

In an interview with SpaceNews after the event, Edgar said she had wanted to be an astronaut since seeing a shuttle launch in second grade. “That’s what set me on this path to becoming a planetary scientist,” she said. “This dream of becoming an astronaut has always been there, but I didn’t realize that it was possible until very recently.”

She applied to the previous two astronaut classes and, while not selected, served as a geology instructor for their training. “I’ve worked with some of these folks, and it is wonderful to now be here and be a part of the crew office with them.”

Edgar now moves from setting Artemis science goals to potentially carrying them out. “I’m excited to, in some ways, continue to work with all of those colleagues, but just in a new role that I have now,” she said. “So same end goal, just a different approach.”

She added that she had no specific preference for the kind of mission she would like to fly once training is complete. “I think this is just a really, really exciting time to be coming on board.”

Beating China to the moon

Edgar and the other astronaut candidates will begin two years of training before becoming eligible for flight assignments. Those could include some of the last missions to the International Space Station and the first to the station’s commercial successors, as well as Artemis missions to the moon.

Officials used the ceremony to stress that Artemis remains on track to return astronauts to the moon before China, which has said it plans to land crews there by the end of the decade. Artemis 3, the first crewed lunar landing mission, is scheduled for mid-2027.

Some former NASA officials, including former Administrator Jim Bridenstine, have cast doubt on that schedule, citing delays with the lunar lander version of SpaceX’s Starship. “It is highly unlikely that we will land on the moon before China,” Bridenstine told the Senate Commerce Committee on Sept. 3.

NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel raised similar concerns at a Sept. 19 meeting. The schedule for Starship’s development “is significantly challenged and, in our estimation, could be years late for a 2027 Artemis 3 moon landing,” said Paul Hill, a panel member, after visiting SpaceX’s Starbase site and meeting with company executives.

Sean Duffy, NASA’s acting administrator, pushed back on those doubts.

“Some are challenging our leadership in space, say, like the Chinese,” he said. “I’ll be damned if the Chinese beat NASA, or beat America, back to the moon. We’re going to win.”

Duffy did not directly address recent criticism of Artemis, but his comments echoed remarks he made at an internal town hall Sept. 4, the day after Bridenstine’s testimony.

Leaders of two congressional committees made similar vows at the event. “We will go back to the moon. We will beat the Chinese to the moon,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, chair of the Senate Commerce Committee.

“NASA’s work is more important than ever. It is national security, folks. We must be on that lunar surface first,” said Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, chair of the House Science Committee. “This is important. We cannot fail there.”

Duffy added that the new class may not stop at the moon. “One of these 10 could actually be one of the first Americans to put their boots on the Mars surface.”