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NASA revealed the members of its new astronaut candidate class who may someday help establish a sustainable presence on the moon.
The first group of astronauts to be recruited since the start of NASA's Artemis moon program are four women and six men. The new class of 10 was narrowed from a pool of more than 12,000 applicants after an extended recruitment process that began in March 2020 and was delayed due to the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic.
The astronauts were announced at a ceremony at the base for flight operations located near Johnson Space Center in Houston. Some of the same T-38 supersonic jets that the ascans will use to train were in the background as agency leaders presided over the event.
How to become an Astronaut.
NASA's 23rd class of astronauts pose with NASA leaders and congressional officials at the conclusion of their announcement ceremony on Monday, December 6, 2021. Credit: collectSPACE.com
Nelson welcomed 10 new explorers and 10 members of the Artemis generation. Each candidate has the right stuff, but together they represent the creed of our country: E pluribus unum.
The candidates will report to Johnson in January to begin their training for spaceflight. Group 23 members will be eligible for a variety of assignments, including performing research on the International Space Station, launching on commercial spaceships to commercial outposts in low Earth orbit and embarking on missions into deep space with NASA.
Some of the candidates may become members of NASA's Artemis team, which is assigned to preparing for humans to return to the moon and eventually launch to Mars.
There are 10 facts about becoming a NASA Astronaut.
The astronauts in NASA's class of 2021 are: Nichole Ayers, Marcos Berros, Christina Birch, Deniz Burnham, Jack Hathaway, Anil Menon, Christopher Williams, and Jessica Wittner. The image is from NASA.
The candidates include military officers, scientists, medical doctors, and a research pilot. They are.
Nichole is a major in the Air Force. A native of Colorado, she has a master's degree in mathematics. The first ever all-woman formation of the aircraft in combat was led by one of the few women currently flying the F-22 fighter jet.
Marcos Berros is a major in the U.S. Air Force. He served in the Air National Guard after graduating from Guaynabo. A test pilot with a doctorate in aeronautics and astronautsics, he has flown more than 100 combat missions and 1,300 hours of flight time in 21 different aircraft.
Christina Birch was born and raised in Gilbert, Arizona, and has a PhD in biological engineering. She was a professor at the California Institute of Technology and a decorated track cyclist.
A lieutenant in the U.S. Navy is named Deniz Burnham. She calls Wasilla her home. A former intern at NASA's Ames Research Center in California, he serves in the U.S. Navy Reserves. She earned a master's degree in mechanical engineering and managed drilling projects throughout North America, including in Alaska, Canada, and Texas.
A retired major in the U.S. Marine Corps, he is called "luke" by his friends. He holds a master's degree in engineering and is from Florida. A distinguished naval aviator and test pilot, Delaney most recently worked as a research pilot at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia, where he supported airborne science missions.
A Virginia native, Douglas holds a doctorate in systems engineering. Douglas was an officer of the deck in the U.S. Coast Guard. He was a senior staff member at the Applied Physics Lab, working on space exploration missions for NASA.
Jack is a commander in the Navy. He earned degrees in physics and history at the U.S. Naval War College. The prospective executive officer for Strike Fighter Squadron 81 was a naval aviator named Hathaway. He has more than 2,500 flight hours in 30 types of aircraft.
A lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force is named Anil Menon. He was born and raised in Minnesota. He was the first flight surgeon for the company and helped to launch the first humans to space during NASA's SpaceX demo-2 mission. He was the crew flight surgeon for various expeditions taking astronauts to the International Space Station.
Christopher Williams grew up in Maryland. He is a board-certified medical physicist after graduating with a doctorate in physics. He was a medical physicist in the Radiation Oncology Department at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Williams focused on developing image guidance for cancer treatments.
Wittner is a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy. She is a native of California and has a distinguished career as a naval aviator and test pilot. She is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. She was a test pilot and project officer with Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 31 in China Lake, California.
NASA's 23rd group of astronauts pose together with their fellow trainees, Mohammad AlMulla and Nora AlMatrooshi. Credit: collectSPACE.com
The new astronauts will be joined in their training by two other people, a mechanical engineer and a pilot for the police.
NASA has 44 active members, led by Chief Astronauts. NASA has trained over a thousand men and women to become astronauts over the course of more than 60 years.
"We've made many giant leaps throughout the last 60 years, fulfilling President Kennedy's goal of landing a man on the moon," said the Johnson Space Center director. "Today we reach further into the stars as we push forward to the moon once again and on to Mars with NASA's newest astronauts candidate class."
To be eligible, the new ascans had to have a master's degree from an accredited institution in a science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) field with at least three years of related experience. The candidates had to pass the NASA physical.
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