NASA Opens Applications for Next Astronaut Class, Including Experienced Pilots

NASA is recruiting its next class of astronaut candidates, offering experienced pilots and other qualified professionals an opportunity to join the agency’s astronaut corps as it prepares for future missions to the Moon and Mars.

Applications opened Nov. 7 and will remain open through 11:59 p.m. EST on Dec. 3, 2026. NASA expects to announce its selections in late 2027, with the new astronaut candidates beginning training at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

While the opportunity is open to applicants from a variety of professional backgrounds, pilots can qualify through specific flight experience requirements.

For pilots flying high-performance jet aircraft, NASA requires at least 750 hours of pilot-in-command time. Applicants with experience in other fixed-wing aircraft must have at least 1,500 total flight hours, including 750 hours as pilot in command. Rotary-wing pilots must have at least 1,000 total flight hours, with at least 300 hours as pilot in command.

Flight experience is only part of the qualifications. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and hold a master’s degree in an eligible science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) field. NASA also accepts certain equivalent qualifications, including doctoral coursework, qualifying medical degrees or completion of a nationally recognized test pilot school program.

Candidates must also demonstrate leadership, teamwork and communication skills and pass NASA’s long-duration astronaut flight physical.

The next astronaut class will support NASA’s expanding human spaceflight efforts, including the Artemis program and plans to establish a sustained human presence on the lunar surface. NASA also intends to use experience gained through lunar missions to help prepare for eventual crewed missions to Mars.

“This is an extraordinary time to join NASA’s astronaut corps,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in announcing the recruitment effort. “The people we select could walk on the Moon, live and work at the Moon Base, and help pioneer the systems and operations that will ultimately carry crews to Mars.”

Selected candidates will undergo approximately two years of initial astronaut training, including spacewalking, lunar geology, operating spacecraft systems and flying high-performance aircraft.

NASA received more than 8,000 applications during its previous astronaut recruitment cycle in 2024. The agency selected 10 candidates in 2025, who are currently completing their training.

NASA has selected 370 astronaut candidates since the program began in 1959. The agency currently has 32 active astronauts.