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NASA has opened applications for its next astronaut-candidate class, with U.S. citizens required to apply by 11:59 p.m. EST on Dec. 3. The agency expects to select candidates in late 2027; applicants must meet education, experience, medical and skills requirements.
NASA has opened applications for its next astronaut-candidate class, inviting eligible U.S. citizens to apply by 11:59 p.m. EST on Dec. 3. The agency expects to make its final selections in late 2027, as it prepares candidates for future human spaceflight missions that include lunar exploration.
Applicants must be U.S. citizens and hold a qualifying advanced degree or meet an accepted alternative. NASA lists a master’s degree in an eligible science, technology, engineering or mathematics field as the standard education requirement. Alternatives include at least two years of doctoral study in an appropriate technical field, certain medical degrees, or completion of a nationally recognized Test Pilot School program by July 2027, subject to the agency’s conditions.
Candidates also need at least three years of related professional experience after completing their qualifying degree. Pilots can meet the experience requirement through specified flight-hour totals, which vary by aircraft type. NASA says medical residency may count for physicians if completed by July 2027. Applicants must also pass the agency’s long-duration astronaut flight physical and demonstrate leadership, teamwork and communication skills.
NASA says selected applicants will train in areas including spacewalking, lunar geology and high-performance aircraft operations. The agency has not announced how many candidates it intends to choose for this class. Applications and further details are available through NASA’s astronaut recruitment website.
Training for Lunar and Mars Missions
The recruitment drive is part of NASA’s effort to maintain a trained astronaut corps for missions that may take crews beyond low Earth orbit. The agency says the new candidates could be prepared for operations on the Moon, including work connected to a planned enduring lunar presence, and for technologies and procedures intended to support eventual crewed missions to Mars.
Those are agency plans, not guarantees about an individual astronaut’s assignment or flight schedule. Selection would begin a lengthy training process; NASA has not said when members of the class might fly. Still, the opening matters because astronaut selection precedes the preparation of people who may be assigned to demanding missions, and the application criteria show the mix of technical qualifications and personal skills NASA is seeking.
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A New Class After the 2024 Intake
NASA last opened astronaut applications in 2024. According to the agency, it received more than 8,000 applications, selected 10 candidates in 2025, and those candidates are now completing nearly two years of training. That competition offers a recent reference point, but NASA has not said whether the number of applications or places available will be similar this time.
The agency says it has selected 370 people since the 1960s to train as astronaut candidates and currently has 32 active astronauts. The new candidates would join that corps after selection and training. NASA frames the hiring around its Artemis lunar effort and longer-term plans for human exploration, including missions near the lunar South Pole; the agency’s announcement does not provide a new flight schedule or detailed mission assignments for the upcoming class.
Class Size and Flight Assignments
NASA has not disclosed the number of candidates it plans to select, how many applications it expects, or when members of the class could receive flight assignments. Selection is expected in late 2027, but the agency’s announcement does not give a training start date or a timetable for the candidates’ first missions.
The agency describes lunar and Mars exploration as the broader mission environment for the class. That does not confirm that any particular candidate will travel to the Moon or Mars. Individual assignments will depend on training, mission needs and schedules that NASA has not specified in this announcement.
Application Deadline and Selection
Interested U.S. citizens must submit completed application materials through NASA’s recruitment site by 11:59 p.m. EST on Dec. 3. Applicants should review NASA’s full eligibility rules, including degree alternatives, experience thresholds, flight-hour requirements where relevant, and medical and skills standards.
NASA says it expects to make final selections in late 2027. The agency has not provided intermediate review dates or a detailed selection timetable. Further information about the application process and astronaut careers is available at NASA’s astronaut recruitment page.
Key Questions
Who can apply to NASA’s next astronaut class?
U.S. citizens who meet NASA’s education, professional experience, medical and skills requirements may apply. NASA lists a qualifying STEM master’s degree as the standard, with several specified alternatives.
When is the application deadline?
NASA says completed applications are due by 11:59 p.m. EST on Dec. 3.
When will NASA choose the candidates?
The agency expects to make its final selections in late 2027. It has not published a more detailed selection schedule.
Does selection mean an astronaut will go to the Moon or Mars?
No individual flight assignment is confirmed by the application announcement. NASA says candidates will train for future exploration missions, but it has not specified when this class might fly or which missions its members could receive.
How many people will NASA select?
NASA has not announced the planned class size. In the previous application round, the agency reported receiving more than 8,000 applications and selecting 10 candidates in 2025.
Source: nasa.gov
