What to Expect if You Are Selected: A Guide to Astronaut Candidacy

by Linda Grimm | 2024-04-10

So, you applied to become part of NASA’s next astronaut class? You must be excited, nervous, and wondering what comes next! Read on for a brief guide on what to expect.

After the current application window closes on April 16, 2024, NASA’s Astronaut Selection Board will review all applications and assess each candidate’s qualifications. Given the number of applications NASA typically receives and the board’s detailed review process, this typically takes several months to complete.

The most highly qualified candidates will be invited for interviews at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, likely between October and December 2024. About half of those interviewed will be asked back for second interviews in early 2025.

From that group, NASA will select its new astronaut candidates. They will report for training at Johnson in the summer of 2025 and spend the next two years learning basic astronaut skills. This includes spacewalk training in NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, studying International Space Station systems, flying T-38 jet planes, trekking through the wilderness, and practicing crew tasks in a variety of simulators. These exercises allow astronaut candidates to work through problems and build relationships with their classmates to prepare them for space flights to the space station, future orbiting destinations, the Moon, and beyond.

Astronaut candidates who successfully complete the training program celebrate their achievement in a graduation ceremony, after which they are officially flight-eligible members of NASA’s astronaut corps.

A collage of four photos showing male and female NASA astronauts completing tasks such as preparing for a spacewalk, flying a jet, training for spacewalks, and interacting with young children. — Not your typical 9 to 5: An astronaut’s workday could include anything from sharing NASA’s mission with the public and engaging students in STEM to suiting up for a spacewalk on the International Space Station. **Credits: NASA**

“It’s hands down the coolest job on or off the planet,” says NASA astronaut Stan Love. He notes that while most of an astronaut’s work time is not spent in space, it definitely is not a typical office job. “One day you might be giving a speech at an elementary school, trying to get kids fired up about science, engineering, and space exploration. The next day, you and a buddy might fly a sleek little jet down to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to ensure equipment bound for the space station is shipshape before it launches,” he said. “The day after, you might be wearing a 350-pound-suit 40 feet underwater in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory.”

Watch the video below for more insight into the astronaut candidate experience from NASA’s newest astronaut class, the Flies.

There is still time to apply! Click here for more information and to submit your application by April 16.