With ambitions to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon and prepare for crewed missions to Mars, NASA has announced the selection of its newest class of astronaut candidates.
NASA announced its 2025 Astronaut Candidate Class on Sept. 22, 2025. The 10 candidates, pictured here at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, are: U.S. Army CW3 Ben Bailey, U.S. Air Force Maj. Cameron Jones, Katherine Spies, Anna Menon, U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Erin Overcash, U.S. Air Force Maj. Adam Fuhrmann, Dr. Lauren Edgar, Yuri Kubo, Rebecca Lawler, and Dr. Imelda Muller. Credit: NASA
The ten men and women, chosen from a pool of more than 8,000 applicants nationwide, make up the agency’s 24th Astronaut Candidate (ASCAN) class. Their introduction was celebrated in a ceremony at Johnson Space Center’s Teague Auditorium, where they walked across the stage in iconic blue flight suits to cheers from family, friends, dignitaries, and fellow astronauts.
“This selection was challenging, competitive and very difficult, 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,” said Norm Knight, Director of NASA’s Flight Operations Directorate.
The event also featured a prerecorded welcome from astronauts aboard the International Space Station, who make up Expedition 73. NASA astronaut Jonny Kim, speaking from orbit, encouraged the new recruits to rely on each other: “The people sitting beside you right now will become more than colleagues. They’ll become lifelong friends.”
This class is historic for being the first with more women than men, though it is also the first since 1985 to lack an African-American candidate. The group will spend the next two years in intensive training before becoming eligible for flight assignments.
Among the new ASCANs is Anna Menon, notable for having already flown in orbital space as a mission specialist and medical officer on SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission in 2024. Menon, who previously trained astronauts for SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, joins her husband, Anil Menon, a member of the previous astronaut class known as “The Flies.” They are just the fourth married couple to serve simultaneously in NASA’s astronaut corps.
Another former SpaceX leader in the class is Yuri Kubo, 40, from Columbus, Indiana. Over 12 years at SpaceX, Kubo worked as director of avionics for the Starshield program and also served as launch director for Falcon 9 missions.
Other members of the class bring strong scientific and military backgrounds. Lauren Edgar, 40, a U.S. Geological Survey scientist, was formerly deputy principal investigator for the Artemis III Geology Team, shaping exploration goals for future lunar crews.
The military contingent includes Lt. Cmdr. Erin Overcash, 34, a U.S. Navy pilot with 1,300 flight hours across 20 aircraft and experience training with the USA Rugby Women’s National Team; Rebecca Lawler, 38, a Navy pilot with 2,800 hours across 45 aircraft, who once flew as a NOAA hurricane hunter; Ben Bailey, 38, a U.S. Army chief warrant officer; Adam Fuhrmann, 35, a U.S. Air Force major; and Cameron Jones, 35, another Air Force major from Illinois.
Completing the group are Imelda Muller, 34, a former Navy lieutenant and anesthesiology resident at Johns Hopkins, and Katherine Spies, 43, a U.S. Naval Test Pilot School graduate who most recently served as director of flight test engineering at Gulfstream Aerospace.
The class nickname will be given by “The Flies,” the 23rd astronaut class selected in 2021.
NASA says the addition of these ten candidates is part of its long-term strategy to sustain operations in low Earth orbit, return humans to the lunar surface through Artemis, and ultimately send astronauts to Mars.
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