| The Flies | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Year selected | 2021 |
| Number selected | 12 |
NASA Astronaut Group 23 (nicknamed The Flies) was announced on December 6, 2021, with the class reporting for duty in January 2022. Twelve astronaut candidates were selected, including seven men and five women.
NASA announced the creation of this astronaut group in February 2020 and accepted applications for astronaut hires during the month of March 2020. For this class, the educational requirements increased to be at minimum a master's degree in a STEM field (engineering, biological science, physical science, computer science, or mathematics) from an accredited institution; in classes prior to this, a bachelor's degree was all that was required. Additionally, a 2-hour online assessment was required for the first time. [1] Over 12,000 applications were received by NASA, coming from all 50 states plus the District of Columbia and four U.S. territories. [2]
The Group 23 astronaut candidates were originally planned to arrive at the Johnson Space Center in Houston for training in the summer of 2021, and with the completion of their approximately two-year-long training program, they would become available for future missions to the International Space Station in low Earth orbit aboard NASA or commercial crew vehicles, the Moon via the Artemis program, and Mars. [1] However, due to complications with interviewing potential applicants in person due to COVID-19 restrictions at JSC, the announcement of the new class was pushed back twice:
The selection of Group 23 was announced on December 6, 2021, with training to commence in January 2022. [6]
Two Emirati candidates, Nora Al Matrooshi and Mohammad Al Mulla, selected by the MBRSC, took part in training as international partner astronauts. Hazza Al Mansouri – who already went to space on board Soyuz MS-15 – and candidate Sultan Al Neyadi were already training at NASA since before the 23rd group was chosen, but only Nora and Mohammad are considered part of the group 23. [7] [8]
Group 23, including the two Emirati candidates, graduated NASA's astronaut training program on March 5, 2024, becoming eligible for assignment to future missions. [9]
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 Astronaut Class of 2021 Official Announcement December 6, 2021 |
| External videos | |
|---|---|
| NASA's Astronaut Graduation 2024 March 5, 2024 |
The list: [10]
Two candidate astronauts from the United Arab Emirates are training as part of the group 23: [11] [12]
Susan Kilrain is an American aerospace engineer, former United States Navy officer, and a former NASA astronaut. She is the youngest person to pilot a Space Shuttle. She has flown more than 3,000 hours and among her merits she was awarded with the Defense Superior Service Medal.
NASA Astronaut Group 2 was the second group of astronauts selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Their selection was announced on September 17, 1962. The group augmented the Mercury Seven. President John F. Kennedy had announced Project Apollo, on May 25, 1961, with the ambitious goal of putting a man on the Moon by the end of the decade, and more astronauts were required to fly the two-man Gemini spacecraft and three-man Apollo spacecraft then under development. The Mercury Seven had been selected to accomplish the simpler task of orbital flight, but the new challenges of space rendezvous and lunar landing led to the selection of candidates with advanced engineering degrees as well as test pilot experience.
James Patrick "Mash" Dutton Jr. is an engineer, former NASA astronaut pilot of the Class of 2004, and a former test pilot in the US Air Force with the rank of colonel.
Randolph James "Komrade" Bresnik is a retired officer in the United States Marine Corps and an active NASA astronaut. A Marine Aviator by trade, Bresnik was selected as a member of NASA Astronaut Group 19 in May 2004. He first launched to space on STS-129, then served as flight engineer for Expedition 52, and as ISS commander for Expedition 53.
Astronauts hold a variety of ranks and positions. Each of these roles carries responsibilities that are essential to the operation of a spacecraft. A spacecraft's cockpit, filled with sophisticated equipment, requires skills differing from those used to manage the scientific equipment on board, and so on.
NASA Astronaut Group 8 was a group of 35 astronauts announced on January 16, 1978. It was the first NASA selection since Group 6 in 1967, and was the largest group to that date. The class was the first to include female and minority astronauts; of the 35 selected, six were women, one of them being Jewish American, three were African American, and one was Asian American. Due to the long delay between the last Apollo lunar mission in 1972 and the first flight of the Space Shuttle in 1981, few astronauts from the older groups remained, and they were outnumbered by the newcomers, who became known as the Thirty-Five New Guys (TFNG). Since then, a new group of candidates has been selected roughly every two years.
Thomas Gautier Pesquet is a French aerospace engineer, pilot, European Space Agency astronaut, actor, musician, and writer. Pesquet was selected by ESA as a candidate in May 2009, and he successfully completed his basic training in November 2010. From November 2016 to June 2017, Pesquet was part of Expedition 50 and Expedition 51 as a flight engineer. Pesquet returned to space in April 2021 on board the SpaceX Crew Dragon for a second six-month stay on the ISS.
Gregory Reid Wiseman is an American astronaut, engineer, and naval aviator. He served as Chief of the Astronaut Office until November 14, 2022.
In 2011 NASA opened applications for Astronaut Group 21. The team was announced in June 2013 after a year and a half long search. With four men and four women, the class of 2013 had the highest percentage of female finalists. According to NASA astronaut Kathleen Rubins, "it's… a reflection of how many really talented women are in science and engineering these days." NASA received a total of over 6,300 applications, which made it the second highest number received at the time.
The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center "MBRSC is a Dubai Government organisation, working on the UAE space program which includes various space satellites projects, such as the Emirates Mars Mission, the Emirates Lunar Mission, and the UAE astronaut program. The center actively works to promote space science and research in the region and encompasses the Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST).
NASA Astronaut Group 22 is a group of twelve NASA astronauts selected in June 2017. They were joined by two Canadian Space Agency astronauts for training.
Robert Thomas "Bob" Hines Jr. is an American fighter pilot and NASA astronaut.
The 2022 European Space Agency Astronaut Group is the latest class of the European Astronaut Corps. The selection recruited five "career" astronauts as well as 12 "reserve/project" astronauts. They are the fourth European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut class to be recruited.
Nora AlMatrooshi is an Emirati engineer and astronaut. In April 2021, she was selected to train with the NASA Astronaut Group 23 of astronauts to work as an international mission specialist.
Mohammad AlMulla is an Emirati astronaut and one of the candidates selected as part of the second batch of the UAE Astronaut Programme. He graduated from the NASA Astronaut Candidate Class training programme and received the astronaut pin in 2024, establishing him as a fully qualified astronaut prepared for future space missions.
Jessica Wittner is a lieutenant commander in the United States Navy and NASA astronaut.
Nichole Ayers is a major in the United States Air Force and NASA astronaut. She is currently a resident of Colorado Springs, Colorado.
SpaceX Crew-6 was the sixth crewed operational NASA Commercial Crew flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft, and the ninth overall crewed orbital flight. The mission launched on 2 March 2023 at 05:34:14 UTC, and it successfully docked to the International Space Station (ISS) on 3 March 2023 at 06:40 UTC. The Crew-6 mission transported four crew members to the International Space Station (ISS). Two NASA astronauts, a United Arab Emirates astronaut, and a Russian cosmonaut were assigned to the mission. The two NASA astronauts are Stephen Bowen and Warren Hoburg. The cosmonaut, Andrey Fedyaev, was reassigned from Soyuz MS-23. Sultan Al Neyadi was the commander of the United Arab Emirates' mission on the flight.
Mr. Nelson also announced that two people from the United Arab Emirates, Nora Al Matrooshi and Mohammad Al Mulla, will train with the NASA astronaut candidates.
The new astronaut candidates will be joined in their training by two United Arab Emirates (UAE) candidates, Nora AlMatrooshi, a 28-year-old mechanical engineer, and Mohammad AlMulla, a 33-year-old pilot for the Dubai Police, who were selected by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC) in Dubai in April.
NASA Astronaut Group 23, "The Flies", 2021  | |||||||
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NASA Astronaut Group 22 ← NASA Astronaut Group 23 → NASA Astronaut Group 24 | |||||||
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