NASA is hiring astronauts again, and the job comes with a real shot at the Moon. The agency opened applications on Saturday for a new class of astronaut candidates who will join the Artemis program, the effort to send people back to the lunar surface, build a lasting base there and lay the groundwork for trips to Mars. NASA made the announcement during an air show at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Associated Press reported.
“This is an extraordinary time to join NASA’s astronaut corps,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in the agency’s announcement. “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.”
The key dates to know
The window is short. Completed applications are due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, December 3, 2026, and they go through the federal USAJOBS system. NASA expects to make its final selection in late 2027, and the winners start training by early 2028.
That timing is no accident. NASA intends to return astronauts to the surface of the Moon in 2028, the first time people will walk there in more than half a century. The new class will arrive too late to make that first landing crew, but its members would be in line for the missions that follow, including long stays at a lunar base.
Why NASA needs more astronauts
The corps is small and the schedule is not. NASA has just 32 active astronauts, and since the 1960s it has selected only 370 people to train as candidates. Artemis III commander Randy Bresnik told the Associated Press on Saturday that the workload facing the program far exceeds the number of crew members available to cover it.
The odds are steep, and the last round proves it. When NASA last opened applications in 2024, more than 8,000 people applied, and only 10 made the final cut in September 2025. That class is still working through nearly two years of training. This new group will be NASA’s 25th astronaut class since the original Mercury Seven were picked in 1959.
What it actually takes to qualify
Two rules come first. You must be a U.S. citizen, and you must hold a master’s degree in a STEM field from an accredited school. The fields that count are engineering, biological science, physical science, computer science and mathematics.
There are three other ways to meet the degree rule. You can have finished at least two years of work toward a doctoral degree in a technical field. You can hold a completed medical degree, which covers doctors of medicine and osteopathic medicine along with physician assistants, doctors of nursing practice and family nurse practitioners. Or you can complete a nationally recognized test pilot school program by July 2027, though if that is your only advanced credential, you also need a bachelor’s degree in a STEM field.
School alone is not enough. Every candidate needs at least three years of related professional experience after finishing the qualifying degree. Pilots can swap in flight time instead: 750 hours as pilot in command in high performance jets, or 1,500 total hours in fixed wing aircraft with 750 of them in command, or 1,000 total hours in rotary wing aircraft with 300 in command. Doctors can count residency training toward the three years, as long as it is finished by July 2027. Everyone who makes the cut also has to pass NASA’s long duration flight physical and show strong leadership, teamwork and communication skills.
How to apply, and what happens next
Applications are submitted through the job announcement on USAJOBS, and NASA’s Astronaut Selection Board reviews each one and weighs the candidate’s qualifications. There is no fee, and there is no second window if you miss the deadline. NASA will not say how big the class will be, so treat the December 3 date as firm and get the paperwork in early.
The people selected will train at Johnson Space Center in Houston, learning spacewalking, lunar geology and how to operate high performance aircraft, among other skills. If you want a sense of the science their missions will deal with, read our story on how the Artemis II flight found giant holes in the ionosphere that can throw off GPS signals, and follow more space and tech coverage in our Technology section.
Sources: NASA news release, “NASA Seeks Next Generation of Explorers to Join Astronaut Corps”; NASA, Become an Astronaut requirements page; Associated Press reporting by Marcia Dunn, November 7, 2026.