NASA opens astronaut applications amid push for moon missions
NASA announced Saturday it is accepting applications for a new astronaut class, with a December 3 deadline. The agency currently has just 32 active astronauts, and Artemis III commander Randy Bresnik said new hires would begin training by early 2028, around when NASA expects astronauts on the moon.
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The recruitment drive signals NASA's effort to build a larger astronaut corps as it ramps up Artemis missions involving lunar landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin. Bresnik's comments suggest staffing has become a bottleneck for NASA's broader ambitions to establish a sustained human presence beyond low-Earth orbit.
- NASA is accepting astronaut applications until December 3, with training starting by early 2028.
- The agency currently has only 32 active astronauts for an expanding workload.
- The last astronaut call two years ago drew over 8,000 applicants, with only 10 selected.
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See LEGO NASA Artemis Space Launch System on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: science.slashdot.org — Posted, 2026-11-08
Published there as: “NASA Announces It's Looking for New Astronauts”
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