NASA introduces its newest astronauts: 10 chosen from more than 8,000 applicants

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA introduced its newest astronauts Monday, 10 scientists, engineers and test pilots chosen from more than 8,000 applicants to help explore the moon and possibly Mars.

For the first time, there were more women than men in an incoming astronaut class. They included a geologist who worked on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover and a SpaceX engineer who's already rocketed into orbit, flying on a billionaire-sponsored mission that featured the world's first private spacewalk last year.

The six women and four men will undergo two years of training before becoming eligible for spaceflight.

Acting Administrator Sean Duffy said one of them could become one of the first to step on Mars. He also stressed that the U.S. will win this second race to land astronauts on the moon.

“You are America's best and brightest, and we're going to need America's best and brightest because we have a bold exploration plan for the future," Duffy said at Monday's ceremony at Johnson Space Center in Houston. “Some are challenging our leadership in space, say like the Chinese ... We are going to win."

It is the 24th astronaut class for NASA since the original Mercury Seven made their debut in 1959. The previous class was in 2021.

Only 370 people have been selected by NASA as astronauts, making it an extraordinarily small and elite group composed mostly of men. The latest additions will join 41 active U.S. astronauts currently serving in the corps.

NASA's flight operations director Norm Knight said competition was stiff and called the newcomers “distinguished” and “exceptional." They include several military pilots, a former SpaceX launch director and a medical doctor.

Air Force Maj. Adam Fuhrmann said he got the call inviting him into the astronaut corps while driving home in rush hour traffic. He took the first exit and pulled into a parking lot “just to make sure I was hearing" right. Another Air Force pilot, Maj. Cameron Jones, was just settling into his new empty home after a cross-country move.

Yet another pilot, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Erin Overcash, got the news while relaxing at home. Her first words? “No way. I mean, I mean, yes, of course. But like no way.” She figures her experience stuck on a ship in the middle of the ocean with 5,000 others will serve her well dealing with space travel.

Anna Menon, who accompanied billionaire Jared Isaacman on a SpaceX flight last September, is NASA's first astronaut candidate to have already visited orbit. She'll be in good company at Johnson: Her husband, a former SpaceX flight surgeon, was chosen in NASA's last astronaut class.

The U.S. Geological Survey's Lauren Edgar worked with the Curiosity rover at Mars and, most recently, the science team behind the first moon landing by astronauts under the Artemis program that's targeted for 2027 at the earliest. “I am so excited to be officially part of the NASA family,” she said.

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