NASA Opens Astronaut Applications at Kennedy Space Center Air Show, Seeking Moon Base Crews for Its 25th Class

NASA is hiring astronauts again. The agency announced Saturday at its MAX POWER aerospace expo and air show at Kennedy Space Center that it is accepting applications for a new astronaut class, the 25th since the original Mercury Seven were chosen in 1959, to crew the Artemis missions that will return Americans to the Moon and build a permanent Moon Base near the lunar south pole. U.S. citizens have until 11:59 p.m. EST Thursday, Dec. 3, to apply.

The announcement came during a weekend event that drew NASA leadership, the Artemis III crew and the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds to Merritt Island, putting Florida's Space Coast at the center of the agency's recruiting push. NASA expects to make its final selection in late 2027, and the Associated Press reported that the new candidates would begin training by early 2028, the same year NASA intends to put astronauts back on the lunar surface.

Why NASA needs more astronauts

NASA has 32 active astronauts, according to the agency, a small corps for a program that plans a steady cadence of Moon missions along with continued work in low Earth orbit. Artemis III commander Randy Bresnik put it plainly in an interview with the AP on Saturday.

"We have far more work than we have astronauts," Bresnik said.

Bresnik also urged potential applicants not to wait, noting that by the time the new class is ready, NASA expects to have people on the Moon.

In its release, NASA said the next class will train to operate on the lunar surface, live and work beyond Earth, and help lay the groundwork for the first crewed missions to Mars. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in the release that the people selected could walk on the Moon, live and work at the Moon Base, and help pioneer the systems that will eventually carry crews to Mars.

"This is an extraordinary time to join NASA's astronaut corps," Isaacman said in the agency's announcement.

Who can apply

The basic requirements are U.S. citizenship and a master's degree in a STEM field, such as engineering, biological science, physical science or computer science, from an accredited institution. Applicants also need at least three years of related professional experience after completing that degree, and they must pass NASA's long-duration astronaut flight physical.

NASA said the master's degree requirement can also be met by:

• At least two years of work toward a doctoral program in a technical field of engineering, biological science, physical science, computer science or mathematics.
• A completed medical degree, including Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Physician Assistant, Doctor of Nursing Practice or Family Nurse Practitioner.
• Completion of, or current enrollment in, a nationally recognized Test Pilot School program finished by July 2027, paired with a STEM bachelor's degree.

Pilots can meet the professional experience requirement with flight time instead. NASA listed the thresholds by aircraft type.

For medical doctors, residency training may count toward the experience requirement and must be completed by July 2027. NASA said it also looks for strong leadership, teamwork and communication skills. Applications are submitted through the federal USAJobs portal, which NASA links from its astronaut page.

A long road, and a competitive one

The last time NASA opened applications, in 2024, more than 8,000 people applied. Ten were selected and introduced in September 2025, and that class is now completing nearly two years of training, according to NASA. Since its first selection, the agency has chosen 370 people as astronaut candidates.

Artemis III mission specialist Frank Rubio, whose 371 consecutive days in space is a U.S. endurance record, told the AP that patience is essential. The two years of mandatory training can be grueling, and it can take several more years before a new astronaut flies. Rubio noted that most of an astronaut's career is spent supporting missions on the ground.

"That will be about 1% of your experience," Rubio told the AP, referring to actually going to the Moon. "What you're doing is contributing to the mission of going to the moon."

Scott Tingle, NASA's chief astronaut and chair of the Astronaut Selection Board at Johnson Space Center in Houston, said in the release that becoming an astronaut is a chance to join a legacy of explorers and help shape humanity's future in space.

Where Artemis stands

The recruiting call comes as the Artemis program moves through its most active stretch yet at Kennedy. The Artemis II crew's lunar flyaround in April kicked off the lunar campaign, the AP noted. Next summer, Bresnik and his crewmates, including European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano and Rubio, will launch on Artemis III to practice docking their Orion capsule in Earth orbit with two commercial lunar landers, one built by SpaceX and the other by Blue Origin.

That mission will stay close to Earth and serve as a dress rehearsal for Artemis IV, which will attempt to land two astronauts near the lunar south pole in 2028. The Space Launch System rocket for Artemis III is already being assembled inside Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building, where its core stage recently joined its twin solid rocket boosters, as The Florida Press has reported.

The Florida angle

Every Artemis crew launches from Kennedy's Launch Complex 39B, so the astronauts selected from this call would almost certainly begin their lunar journeys on Florida's Space Coast. The MAX POWER weekend, which ran Friday through Sunday on and near the space center, was the agency's showcase for that future. NASA's schedule for the event included an Artemis III crew appearance, air show flyovers featuring Isaacman in an F-5 and a MiG-29, a display of the quiet supersonic X-59 research plane, and a Saturday evening news conference on the Moon Base program. President Donald Trump gave remarks on Friday evening ahead of the event, News 6 reported.

What's next

Applications close at 11:59 p.m. EST on Dec. 3. NASA's Astronaut Selection Board will then review the pool, with the final selection expected in late 2027 and training to follow. In the meantime, the Artemis III rocket will continue its preparations at Kennedy ahead of next summer's Earth-orbit docking test.