NASA Still Training Astronaut Candidates for International Space Station

The 24th class of astronaut candidates will graduate in 2027. The space station is set to be retired in 2030.

NASA’s 24th class of astronaut candidates pose around a sculpture of the NASA “worm” logo at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, before being announced to the nation on Sept. 22, 2025. (Courtesy of NASA).

Astronaut candidate Ben Bailey was coming up on five months into his training when he spoke with The Epoch Times on Jan. 30.

The seasoned test pilot was one of 10 men and women NASA introduced to the world last September as its 24th astronaut candidate class. Their two years of candidate training began at an ambitious time for the space program. Artemis II is set to fly humans back to the moon, and then-acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy teased at their reveal that one of them could be the first American to set foot on Mars.