NASA's New Astronaut Class Has More Women Than Men For First Time In History

NASA has selected its next round of astronaut candidates, or ASCANs, from a pool of 8,000 candidates. The selection, NASA's 24th astronaut class, is notable for being the first in NASA history (since the first women ASCANs in 1978) where women candidates outnumber the men, and for being the pool that will feed the planned Artemis mission. And the first boot that ever sets foot on the surface of the Red Planet will be an American astronaut, and could well be one of the boots right here," Senator Ted Cruz said during the 2025 NASA astronaut candidate announcement. During that flight, which included the first-ever private spacewalk, Menon and colleague Sarah Gillis set a new record for the furthest from Earth that a woman has ever traveled. In this role, she helped define lunar science goals, geology activities NASA astronauts will conduct, and science operations for NASA’s return to the Moon," NASA explained of the candidate.