NASA takes astronaut applications until December 3, aiming to pick a new class in late 2027

NASA opened applications for its next class of astronauts on November 7, 2026, and will accept them until 11:59 p.m. EST on Thursday, December 3, the agency said. It expects to make its final selection in late 2027. A tentative timeline on NASA's website has the class announced in fall 2027 and reporting for training at Johnson Space Center in Houston in winter 2027/2028.

NASA is pitching the job around the Moon. Its release says the new astronauts will join as the country returns to the Moon, builds a Moon Base and prepares for the first crewed missions to Mars. “The people we select could walk on the Moon, live and work at the Moon Base,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. Our report on NASA's path to a 2028 Moon landing sets out the missions planned before then.

A shorter window than last time

By our count, this application window is 26 days long. NASA's selection timeline page gives the previous window as March 5 to April 16, 2024, which is 42 days. That call drew more than 8,000 applications, according to the agency, and produced 10 astronaut candidates, announced on September 22, 2025, who are now in a training program of nearly two years. NASA cautions that the new schedule could move in either direction depending on how many people apply.

NASA says it has selected 370 people as astronaut candidates since the 1960s, and that 32 astronauts are active in the corps today. The agency selects astronauts in groups of different sizes as it needs them, its website says; the release does not say how many people this class will include.

What NASA asks of applicants

NASA's basic requirements start with U.S. citizenship and a master's degree in a STEM field such as engineering, biological or physical science, or computer science. The agency also accepts, in place of that degree, at least two years toward a relevant doctorate, a completed medical, physician assistant or advanced nursing degree, or a nationally recognized test pilot school program completed by July 2027 (with a STEM bachelor's degree if that is the only advanced qualification). Applicants need at least three years of related professional experience after their qualifying degree.

Pilots can meet the experience rule through flight hours instead: NASA sets 750 hours as pilot in command of high-performance jets, 1,500 total hours for other fixed-wing aircraft or 1,000 for rotary-wing aircraft, each with a minimum of pilot-in-command time. For doctors, residency can count and must end by July 2027. Every candidate must pass NASA's long-duration flight physical, and the agency's FAQ says it grants no waivers of the medical requirements.

According to that FAQ, there is no age limit; past candidates were between 26 and 46 years old, with an average age of 34. It puts the salary at $164,395 a year, an approximation based on 2026 pay schedules, while military candidates stay on active duty for pay. Applications go through the USAJOBS federal jobs site, and NASA's Become an Astronaut page and its FAQ are the official guide for individual questions.

From application to training

NASA's Astronaut Selection Board reviews the applications and invites a small group of the strongest candidates to Johnson for interviews, the agency says; about half of those are asked back for a second round. The tentative timeline schedules application review from December 2026 to April 2027, first interviews in spring 2027 and final interviews in summer 2027.

Those selected become astronaut candidates and spend about two years in basic training, which NASA says covers spacewalking, operating the space station, flying T-38 jets and controlling a robotic arm. The release adds lunar geology to the curriculum for this group.