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New NASA Astronauts Gear Up for Moon Missions and Private Space Stations, Celebrating a New Era of Space Exploration

Jack Hathaway faced a significant challenge on his path to becoming a NASA astronaut candidate: he needed to find time to receive crucial news. In 2021, Hathaway eagerly anticipated a call from Reid Wiseman, then chief of the astronaut office at NASA, to find out if he had been selected to join the agency. However, Hathaway’s duties aboard the USS Truman and his involvement with Strike Fighter Squadron 81 kept him busy, leading him to miss Wiseman’s calls. Hathaway, a U.S. Navy commander and pilot, shared this experience with Space.com.

Eventually, Wiseman reached out via email late one afternoon. After completing his piloting tasks for the day, Hathaway checked his emails and hurried to a ready room to use an available phone line. Unfortunately, as Wiseman informed Hathaway that he needed to prepare for NASA training, a group of officers happened to walk by. They noticed Hathaway’s excited reaction, and despite his efforts to keep the news to himself, they quickly spread the word throughout the ship. These officers, known as “paddles,” were responsible for grading the landings of Navy aviators on the carrier.

Hathaway, who recently completed astronaut candidate training, is now eligible for future missions alongside 11 other candidates. This group includes 10 from NASA and two from the United Arab Emirates. They are looking forward to a variety of spaceflight opportunities, such as participating in the Artemis program for moon or lunar space station flights, embarking on months-long missions on the International Space Station (ISS), and possibly joining missions to future commercial space stations.

Despite facing challenges like the delays of the first two Artemis crewed missions due to technical issues and a reduced budget for NASA in fiscal year 2025, the new astronauts are filled with energy and optimism. Hathaway expressed his excitement about the current era in space exploration, highlighting the collaboration with commercial partners on lunar landings and missions.

Jessica Wittner, a new astronaut and U.S. Navy lieutenant commander with a background in aviation mechanics, is eager to apply her hands-on skills to various spacecraft programs. She anticipates that the aging ISS and upcoming commercial stations will require significant maintenance work. Wittner is also looking forward to contributing to the development of new spacesuits for astronauts.

Flight surgeon and new astronaut Anil Menon highlighted the importance of understanding how different people react to space travel, especially as companies like Axiom Space begin sending civilians to the ISS. This diversity in space travelers opens new doors for learning and prepares humanity for future missions to the moon and Mars.

The Artemis program is a major focus for the new astronauts, with Artemis 2’s crew already deep in training for their 2025 mission. Although the crew for Artemis 3 has not yet been announced, there is hope that some of the new astronauts will have the opportunity to participate in this and future missions, including those to NASA’s planned Gateway lunar space station.

Andre Douglas, another new astronaut, shared his excitement for solving new problems and facing challenges as part of the Artemis program. His motto is to embrace the unknown rather than fear it, aiming to turn science fiction into reality by exploring the moon and Mars.

Jack Delaney, a naval aviator and new astronaut, is intrigued by the technical aspects of landing on the moon, particularly at the south pole where sunlight angles create unique challenges. He looks forward to contributing to the development of strategies and instrumentation for successful lunar landings.

Christopher Williams, a new astronaut with a background in medical physics, expressed his enthusiasm for the moon missions. He is inspired by the idea of exploring beyond low Earth orbit and believes that this spirit of exploration resonates with many people.

The new astronauts are ready to contribute their diverse skills and experiences to NASA’s mission, pushing the boundaries of human space exploration and paving the way for future generations to explore the moon, Mars, and beyond.