The most recent astronaut candidates wave to the crowd in this image from their March 5, 2024, graduation ceremony at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Nicknamed “The Flies,” this cohort is now eligible for spaceflight assignments to the International Space Station, future orbiting destinations, the Moon, and beyond.

Selected for training in 2021, the astronaut graduates were chosen from a pool of more than 12,000 applicants and successfully completed more than two years of required basic training, including spacewalking, robotics, space station systems, and more.

The graduating NASA astronauts are Nichole Ayers or Colorado Springs, Colorado; Marcos Berríos of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico; Chris Birch of Gilbert, Arizona; Deniz Bunham of Wasilla, Alaska; Luke Delaney of Debary, Florida; Andre Douglas of Chesapeake, Virginia; Jack Hathaway of South Windsor, Connecticut; Anil Menon of Minneapolis; Chris Williams of Potomac, Maryland, and Jessica Wittner of Clovis, California. UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronauts Mohammad AlMulla and Nora AlMatrooshi trained alongside the NASA astronaut candidates for the past two years and took part in the graduation ceremony.

Applications to become a NASA astronaut are now open.

Image Credit: NASA