Women Outnumber Men Picked for Astronaut Class in NASA First

NASA’s next class of 10 astronaut candidates includes more women than men for the first time in the space agency’s more than 60-year history.

The six women and four men include engineers, scientists and former military personnel. Notably, two are former employees of SpaceX, including Anna Menon, who flew to orbit in 2024 as part of the company’s Polaris Dawn mission, which included the first commercial spacewalk. Menon is also the first astronaut candidate to be selected who has already flown to orbit before.