NASA’s 2025 Astronaut Candidates Midway Through Two‑Year Training

Verified: NASA says its 2025 Astronaut Candidate Class — 10 people introduced publicly on Sept. 22, 2025 — is approximately halfway through a nearly two‑year training program. (Source: NASA.)

Geology: NASA reports candidates completed classroom geology at Johnson Space Center and field training at Rio Grande del Norte National Monument in May 2026, and that several also trained in Iceland in July alongside NASA astronauts and Artemis mission support teams. The agency states they practiced observations, sampling with tools, navigation and teamwork that it says translate directly to Artemis lunar missions. (Source: NASA.)

Flight training: NASA reports this summer’s flight work included runs on WB‑57 high‑altitude research aircraft and the start of T‑38 supersonic jet flights. Photo captions identify candidates such as Lauren Edgar, Rebecca Lawler and Adam Fuhrmann participating in those activities. NASA frames this training as building confidence, coordination and resilience for high‑stakes flight environments. (Source: NASA; observed in NASA photo captions.)

Altitude chamber: NASA reports candidates used Johnson’s altitude chambers to simulate pressures from sea level to near vacuum, practicing suit procedures and interventions they may employ on high‑altitude flights or in space. A NASA caption dates chamber activity for Adam Fuhrmann and Rebecca Lawler to April 8, 2025. (Source: NASA.)

Water survival: NASA reports survival exercises took place in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, including simulated storms and raft evacuation drills. NASA imagery shows candidates practicing being lifted from the water and floating in rafts. The agency presents these drills as preparation for unlikely remote landings and as teamwork training. (Source: NASA; observed in NASA photo captions.)

Other skills: NASA reports candidates are completing intensive Russian language and cross‑cultural training, spacecraft systems operations, spacewalk training in the NBL, mockup vehicle training, and emergency‑procedure and maintenance practice. (Source: NASA.)

Trajectory and limits: NASA says the class is on track to graduate in 2027 and then join the active astronaut corps awaiting flight assignments. The agency presents these activities as preparing graduates for ISS research, Artemis lunar surface work and future Mars missions. The article does not specify individual flight assignments, exact hours accumulated, or any schedule guarantees beyond the stated graduation target. (Source: NASA; gap noted.)

Analysis (inference): The combination of geology, flight, altitude, water survival and language training aligns with NASA’s stated goal of preparing personnel for multi‑environment missions — low Earth orbit operations and surface exploration on the Moon — but the article provides program-level descriptions rather than measurable training milestones or individual performance metrics. (Inference based on NASA reporting.)

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