CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida | NASA has opened applications for its next astronaut class as the United States prepares for future lunar missions and a permanent Moon base, while China is preparing to send a Pakistani astronaut to its Tiangong space station, marking the first time a foreign national will participate in its crewed space program.
NASA announced on November 7 that applications are open until December 3 for qualified U.S. citizens seeking to join its astronaut corps. The selected candidates are expected to support the Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the lunar surface, establish a sustained presence on the Moon and lay the groundwork for future crewed missions to Mars.
According to NASA, applicants must hold a master’s degree in a science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) field, or meet an equivalent qualification through certain doctoral studies, medical degrees or test pilot school programs. Candidates must also have at least three years of relevant professional experience after completing their qualifying degree and pass NASA’s long-duration astronaut physical.
The agency expects to announce its selections in late 2027, with the new astronaut candidates beginning training in early 2028. NASA currently has 32 active astronauts and said it needs additional personnel as its exploration program expands.
The previous recruitment drive in 2024 attracted more than 8,000 applicants, from whom NASA selected 10 astronaut candidates in September 2025. The new recruits will undergo nearly two years of intensive training, including spacewalking, spacecraft operations, survival skills and lunar geology.
NASA’s recruitment comes as the Artemis program advances toward its next major milestones. The Artemis II mission successfully carried four astronauts around the Moon in April 2026, marking the first crewed lunar voyage in more than 50 years. The last time humans landed on the Moon was during NASA’s Apollo 17 mission in December 1972.
Under NASA’s updated schedule, Artemis III is planned as a crewed demonstration mission in low Earth orbit in 2027 to test commercial lunar landing systems. The agency is targeting early 2028 for Artemis IV, which is expected to return astronauts to the lunar surface.
Meanwhile, China is preparing for a historic development in its own space program, with a Pakistani astronaut selected to join the Shenzhou 24 mission as a payload specialist. The astronaut will become the first foreign national to visit China’s Tiangong space station.
China’s Manned Space Agency announced that the Pakistani participant will undertake a short-term orbital mission before returning to Earth aboard the Shenzhou 23 spacecraft. No launch date has been announced.
Two Pakistani candidates, Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud, were selected in April 2026 following a multistage selection process. Both underwent training alongside Chinese astronauts, including spacecraft operations and intensive Chinese-language instruction. One will serve as the primary crew member, while the other will remain as a backup.
The mission is part of a bilateral agreement signed by China and Pakistan in February 2025 covering astronaut selection, training and participation in China’s space station program. It will mark the first joint crewed spaceflight involving Chinese and foreign astronauts.
China has been expanding its human spaceflight capabilities since establishing its own permanent space station, Tiangong, following the completion of its main construction phase in 2022. Beijing has also announced plans to land Chinese astronauts on the Moon by 2030.
The parallel developments highlight the growing international importance of human space exploration. While NASA is expanding its astronaut corps for a sustained return to the Moon and eventual Mars missions, China’s partnership with Pakistan signals a wider effort to involve other countries in its space program.
Both programs reflect a new phase of space exploration in which scientific research, technological development and international partnerships are increasingly shaping humanity’s efforts to travel and work beyond Earth.
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
- EDGARDO HERNAL
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