NASA has 10 new astronauts chosen from more than 8,000 applicants

FILE - Workers on scaffolding repaint the NASA logo near the top of the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., May 20, 2020. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA introduced its newest astronauts Monday, 10 scientists, engineers and test pilots chosen from more than 8,000 applicants to help explore the moon and possibly Mars.

For the first time, there were more women than men in a NASA astronaut class. They included a geologist who worked on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover, a SpaceX engineer who flew on a billionaire-sponsored spaceflight that featured the world's first private spacewalk and a former SpaceX launch director.

The group will undergo two years of training before becoming eligible for spaceflight. Acting Administrator Sean Duffy said one of them could become the first person to step on Mars.

It is the 24th astronaut class for NASA since the original Mercury Seven made their debut in 1959. The previous class was in 2021.

Only 370 people have been selected by NASA as astronauts, making it an extraordinarily small and elite group composed mostly of men. The latest additions — revealed during a ceremony at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston — will join 41 active U.S. astronauts currently serving in the corps.

NASA's flight operations director Norm Knight said competition was stiff and called the newcomers “distinguished” and “exceptional."

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.