NASA to Unveil New Astronaut Class and Detail Upcoming Moon Mission in September Events

According to a NASA news advisory, the agency will be introducing its latest group of astronaut candidates and providing in-depth briefings on the Artemis II mission to the Moon. These significant events are scheduled to take place in September at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The public will have the opportunity to watch key announcements and briefings live across multiple platforms.

The culmination of an extensive selection process, which involved evaluating over 8,000 applications, will be the public debut of NASA’s 2025 astronaut candidate class. This ceremony is scheduled for Monday, September 22, at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Following the ceremony, members of the newly selected class will be available for media interviews. The entire astronaut selection event will be broadcast live on NASA+, Netflix, Amazon Prime, the NASA YouTube channel, and the agency’s X account. The selected candidates will then embark on a rigorous training program lasting approximately two years, preparing them for future missions. Upon graduation, they will become eligible for flight assignments on missions ranging from low Earth orbit to the Moon, and eventually, Mars.

Following the astronaut selection, NASA will host a series of media briefings on Tuesday, September 23, and Wednesday, September 24. These sessions will focus on the forthcoming Artemis II mission, which is targeted for launch no later than April 2026. This mission is designed as a crewed test flight around the Moon, utilizing the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft. The Artemis II crew includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman as commander, Victor Glover as pilot, and Christina Koch as mission specialist, alongside Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, who will serve as mission specialist. The mission is expected to last approximately 10 days and will serve to validate the critical systems and hardware necessary for deep space human exploration. This flight represents a pivotal step in NASA’s Artemis campaign, advancing the agency’s objectives of returning Americans to the Moon and preparing for eventual human missions to Mars. The Artemis II briefings will also be streamed live on NASA’s YouTube channel and X account, with information available on how to view NASA content through various platforms.

Adding to the scheduled events, NASA will hold an Artemis II media day on September 24 at the Johnson Space Center. This dedicated day will offer media representatives an inside look at the facilities, trainers, and hardware supporting Artemis missions. It will also provide opportunities for interviews with key personnel, including mission leadership, flight directors, astronauts, scientists, and engineers involved in the program.

The schedule for these important events includes specific times for each briefing. On Monday, September 22, the astronaut candidate selection ceremony will commence at 12:30 p.m. EDT. On Tuesday, September 23, the day will feature two key briefings: an Artemis II Mission Overview Briefing at 11 a.m., with participants including Lakiesha Hawkins, acting deputy associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate; Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis launch director; and lead flight directors for Artemis II. This will be followed at 1 p.m. by an Artemis II Science and Technology Briefing, featuring program managers and science directors. Media wishing to participate in these briefings via phone must request dial-in information by emailing the NASA Johnson newsroom no later than 5 p.m. on September 22. On Wednesday, September 24, a press conference with the Artemis II crew is scheduled for 10 a.m., providing an opportunity to hear directly from Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen.

Article by Mel Anara, based upon information from NASA News

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