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Become An Astronaut

Since its inception, NASA’s astronaut corps has represented the very best of American ingenuity, skill, and determination, carrying out missions that achieve the near impossible, expanding humanity’s understanding of Earth, the Moon, and beyond. As NASA builds a Moon Base and advances the Artemis program, astronauts will undertake missions that will return humans to the Moon, establish a sustained human presence on the lunar surface, and lay the foundation for future exploration of Mars. The experience gained through these missions will help develop the technologies, capabilities, and knowledge needed for humanity’s next giant leap into deep space.

2025 NASA Astronaut Candidates

NASA is now accepting astronaut applications through 11:59 p.m. EST, Thursday, Dec. 3. Apply at USAJOBS – Job Announcement.

Requirements to Become an Astronaut

Astronaut requirements have changed with NASA’s goals and missions. Today, to be considered for an astronaut position, applicants must meet the following qualifications:

Be a U.S. citizen

Have a master’s degree* in a STEM field, including engineering, biological science, physical science, computer science or mathematics, from an accredited institution.

Have a minimum of three years of related professional experience obtained after qualifying degree completion.
- OR For Pilots:
  - High-Performance Jet: 750 hours of Pilot-In-Command time
  - Other Fixed Wing Aircraft: 1,500 total hours, 750 of which must be Pilot-In-Command time
  - Rotary Wing Aircraft: 1,000 hours total, 300 of which must be Pilot-In-Command time
- OR For Medical Doctors:
  - Time in residency can count towards the experience requirement and must be completed by July 2027

Be able to successfully complete the NASA long-duration flight astronaut physical.

*The master’s degree requirement can also be met by:

Two years of work towards a doctoral program in a related science, technology, engineering, or math field.

Completed Doctor of Medicine, Osteopathic Medicine, Physician Assistant, Doctor of Nursing Practice, Family Nurse Practitioner, or related medical degree

Completion (or current enrollment that will result in completion by July 2027) of a nationally recognized Test Pilot School (TPS) program.

Astronaut candidates must also have skills in leadership, teamwork and communications.

NASA’s Astronaut Selection Board reviews the applications and assesses each candidate’s qualifications. The board then invites a small group of the most highly qualified candidates for interviews at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Of those interviewed, about half are invited back for second interviews. From that group, NASA’s new astronaut candidates are selected. They report for training at Johnson and spend the next two years learning basic astronaut skills like spacewalking, operating the space station, flying T-38 jet planes and controlling a robotic arm.

With NASA’s plans for the future of exploration, the agency’s next astronaut class will play a critical role in advancing exploration, strengthening American leadership in space, and helping write the next chapter of discovery for the Artemis generation and beyond.

Application Timeline

NASA selects astronauts in groups of various sizes on an as-needed basis. Filling out an application is just the beginning. Highly qualified applicants may be asked to come to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for further evaluation.

NASA astronaut and Expedition 75 flight engineer Anil Menon points his camera toward his spacesuit’s helmet visor and takes an out-of-this-world “space selfie.” Menon participated in a six-hour and 30-minute spacewalk with ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and Expedition 75 flight engineer Sophie Adenot (out of frame) to install a high-speed space-to-ground antenna outside the International Space Station.

iss075e0068637 (Aug. 25, 2026) — NASA astronaut and Expedition 75 flight engineer Anil Menon points his camera toward his spacesuit’s helmet visor and takes an out-of-this-world “space selfie.” Menon participated in a six-hour and 30-minute spacewalk with ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and Expedition 75 flight engineer Sophie Adenot (out of frame) to install a high-speed space-to-ground antenna outside the International Space Station.

NASA/Anil Menon

Astronaut Selection History

To date, NASA has selected 370 astronaut candidates to fly on its increasingly challenging missions to explore space.

The first U.S. astronauts were selected in 1959, before human spaceflight operations began. NASA asked the military services to provide a list of personnel who met specific qualifications. After stringent screening, NASA announced its selection of seven men, all pilots, as the first American astronauts. NASA has selected 23 more groups of astronauts since the “Original Seven.” The backgrounds of NASA’s latest group of astronaut candidates include test pilots, engineers, medical professionals, a geologist, and more.

NASA selects astronauts from a large pool of talented applicants with backgrounds spanning science, engineering, technology, medicine, aviation, and other disciplines. Those chosen for the intensive Astronaut Candidate training program join a proud legacy of explorers who have pushed the boundaries of what is possible while inspiring future generations to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Seven men wearing silver astronaut spacesuits — S62-08774 (July 1960) — These seven men, wearing spacesuits in this portrait, composed the first group of astronauts announced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). They were selected in April of 1959 for the Mercury Program. Front row, left to right, are Walter M. Schirra Jr., Donald K. Slayton, John H. Glenn Jr., and M. Scott Carpenter. Back row, left to right, are Alan B. Shepard Jr., Virgil I. Grissom and L. Gordon Cooper Jr. Photo credit: NASA

The first five women astronauts leaning up against a fence in green and blueoveralls. — S78-33616 (31 July-2 Aug 1978) — Taking a break from the various training exercises at a three-day water survival school held near Homestead Air Force Base, Florida are these five astronaut candidates left to right are Sally K. Ride, Judith A. Resnik, Anne L. Fisher; Kathryn D. Sullivan and Rhea Seddon. They were among fifteen mission specialist-astronaut candidates who joined one of the pilot astronaut candidates for the training.
NASA

At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the 2004 class of astronaut candidates gather for a class photo in front of the nose of Atlantis in the Orbiter Processing Facility bay 1. In the back row, from left to right, are Joseph Acaba, Randolph Bresnik, James Dutton, Shannon Walker, Richard Arnold II, Christopher Cassidy, Thomas Marshburn and Robert Satcher. In the front row, left to right, are Akahiko Hoshide, Satoshi Furukawa, Naoko Yamazaki, Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, Jose Hernandez and Robert Kimbrough. Atlantis is being processed for Return to Flight mission STS-121 in July.
NASA

At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Class of 2009 Astronaut Candidates, also called ASCANs, take a picture under space shuttle Atlantis in Orbiter Processing Facility-1. Standing, from left, are Astronaut Office Training Specialist Debbie Trainor, JAXA’s Takuya Onishi and Kimiya Yui, NASA’s Air Force Maj. Jack D. Fischer, CSA’s Jeremy Hansen, NASA’s Kathleen ‘Kate’ Rubins and Serena M. Aunon, CSA’s David Saint-Jacques, NASA’s Kjell N. Lindgren, and JAXA’s Norishige Kanai. Kneeling, from left, are NASA’s Army Lt. Col. Mark T. Vande, Chief of the Astronaut Candidate Program Duane Ross, Navy Cmdr. Scott D. Tingle, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Gregory R. ‘Reid’ Wiseman, Air Force Lt. Col. Michael S. Hopkins, and Jeanette J. Epps.
NASA/Kim Shiflett

NASA astronaut candidates Tyler “Nick” Hague, from left, Andrew Morgan, Jessica Meir, Christina Hammock, Mary Hanna, crawler-transporter integration manager, astronaut candidates Nicole Mann, Anne McClain, Josh Cassada and Victor Glover pose in front of a crawler-transporter inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center during a daylong set of briefings and tours of different facilities at NASA’s primary launch center.
NASA/ Kim Shiflett

The members of the 2017 NASA Astronaut Class — The members of NASA’s 2017 astronaut candidate class take a selfie. Back row, from left are CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Josh Kutryk, NASA astronauts Woody Hoburg and Matt Dominick, CSA astronaut Jenni Gibbons, NAA astronaut Kayla Barron. Front row, from left are NASA astronauts Bob Hines, Frank Rubio, Raja Chari, Jasmin Moghbeli, Jessica Watkins, Jonny Kim, Zena Cardman, and Loral O’Hara.
NASA

Astronaut Candidates of 2021 — The 2021 Astronaut Candidate class poses for a group photo. Back row, from left are Nichole Stilwell, Luke Delaney, Anil Menon, Marcos Berrios, Chris Birch, and Andre Douglas. Front row, from left are Chris Williams, Jessica Wittner, Jack Hathaway, and Deniz Burnham.
NASA

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, Anna Menon, Rebecca Lawler, Katherine Spies, U.S. Air Force Maj. Cameron Jones, Dr. Lauren Edgar, U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Erin Overcash, Yuri Kubo, Dr. Imelda Muller, and U.S. Air Force Maj. Adam Fuhrmann.

NASA/Josh Valcarcel

Learn More and Get Involved

NASA astronaut and Expedition 75 flight engineer Anil Menon is attached to the Canadarm2 robotic arm’s latching end effector during a spacewalk to install a high-speed space-to-ground antenna on the International Space Station’s Z1 truss segment above the Unity module. Menon and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and Expedition 75 flight engineer Sophie Adenot (out of frame) spent six hours and 30 minutes replacing a failed antenna with a spare and making the precise connections needed to activate it for high-speed transmissions with mission control.

Astronaut Fact Book

This document pertains to U.S. Astronauts and includes information about international astronauts and Cosmonauts who are partners in the ISS.

NASA astronaut and Expedition 75 flight engineer Jessica Watkins works inside the Kibo laboratory module's Life Science Glovebox, safely mixing living cell samples with a bioink and then filling a special cartridge with the cell‑ink mixture. The advanced research operations were part of the InSPA‑Auxilium Bioprinter‑Cell Printing investigation, which explores 3D bioprinting cartilage tissue in microgravity of higher quality than that produced on Earth. Results may advance the ability to biomanufacture cartilage, benefiting patients on Earth and crew members on long‑duration space missions.

Careers at NASA

At NASA, our work is more than just a profession—it’s a lifelong pursuit, a passion—and a chance to change the history of humanity.

Dreaming About Space Travel?

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