NASA is hiring astronauts again. The agency announced on November 7 that applications are open for its next astronaut class, and U.S. citizens have until 11:59 p.m. EST on Thursday, December 3, to submit their completed application materials, according to NASA's announcement.
That is a window of less than four weeks, and the selection behind it runs on a much longer clock. NASA says it expects to make its final selection in late 2027, when the chosen applicants begin training as the next class of astronaut candidates.
What the application actually asks for
The requirements read like a checklist, and it helps to take them in order, because each step filters the pool before the next one applies.
First, citizenship. The call is open to United States citizens only.
Second, the degree. The baseline is a master's degree in a STEM field from an accredited institution. NASA lists engineering, biological science, physical science and computer science. There are three other ways to meet that requirement:
- at least two years of work toward a doctorate in engineering, biological science, physical science, computer science or mathematics;
- a medical degree, which NASA lists as Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Physician Assistant, Doctor of Nursing Practice, Family Nurse Practitioner or a related degree;
- completing, or being enrolled in, a nationally recognized Test Pilot School program, as long as it is finished by July 2027. If Test Pilot School is the applicant's only advanced qualification, they also need a STEM bachelor's degree.
Third, experience. Applicants need at least three years of related professional experience after the qualifying degree. Pilots can meet this through flight time instead: 750 hours as pilot in command of high-performance jet aircraft, 1,500 total hours in other fixed-wing aircraft with 750 of them as pilot in command, or 1,000 total hours in rotary-wing aircraft with 300 as pilot in command. For medical doctors, residency training can count toward the experience requirement, provided it is completed by July 2027.
Fourth, the physical and the people skills. Candidates must pass NASA's long-duration astronaut flight physical and show strong leadership, teamwork and communication skills.
Note the two July 2027 deadlines. They mean NASA is willing to consider someone who is still partway through Test Pilot School or a medical residency today, as long as that training wraps up by July 2027, months before the late-2027 selection.
The odds, in numbers
The last round shows how narrow the funnel is. NASA says it last opened applications in 2024, received more than 8,000 of them, and selected 10 astronaut candidates in 2025. That class is still partway through a training programme that NASA says runs nearly two years.
Space.com's report on that 2025 selection fills in how the last cycle ran. It says the 2024 call stayed open for about a month, that the 10 were unveiled on September 22, 2025 at Johnson Space Center as the 24th astronaut class in NASA's history, and that they were due to report to NASA in January to begin two years of basic spaceflight training. Set the new window beside that and the pattern holds: a few weeks to apply, then a long gap before anyone is picked.
Since the 1960s, NASA has selected 370 people to train as astronaut candidates, and the agency says it has 32 astronauts active in the corps today.
Those who make it through will study spacewalking, lunar geology and the operation of high-performance aircraft, among other things, NASA says.
Why the agency is framing this around the Moon
NASA's announcement says this class will join the agency as "America returns to the Moon, builds the Moon Base, and lays the groundwork for the first crewed missions to Mars." It says the new astronauts will train to operate on the lunar surface and to live and work beyond Earth, and that NASA will send crews on increasingly difficult missions near the lunar South Pole as part of its Artemis missions.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman put it in those terms. "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," Isaacman said in the release.
Deputy Administrator Matt Anderson's statement opened with two short sentences: "The window is open. The mission is waiting."
Scott Tingle, NASA's chief astronaut and chair of the Astronaut Selection Board at Johnson Space Center in Houston, said that for applicants, becoming an astronaut "is more than a career opportunity."
What to do if you qualify
The practical steps are short. Applications go through the application link NASA gives, and the agency points to go.nasa.gov/astro2026 for more on the process and the job itself. The cutoff is 11:59 p.m. EST on December 3. If you are reading this outside the United States, the citizenship rule means this particular call is not open to you.
Reporting notes
