The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on the 22nd (local time) announced 10 new astronaut candidates who will be sent to the International Space Station (ISS), the moon, Mars, and beyond.
According to CBS in the United States, NASA said that "10 newly selected astronaut candidates out of 8,000 applicants will begin training for spaceflight." They will receive two years of training at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, and at partner space agencies around the world, after which they will qualify for flight assignments.
Among the 10 candidates, there are four men and six women, marking the first time in NASA's history that more women than men have been selected. Of them, six are pilots from the Air Force and Navy with experience operating high-performance aircraft. The others are known to be a biomedical engineer, an anesthesiologist, a geologist, and a former SpaceX launch director.
The Donald Trump administration cut NASA-related budgets, and as astronauts' rotation periods increased from six to eight months, each astronaut's number of flights decreased. As a result, it is uncertain whether some of the newly selected candidates will be able to fly to space before the ISS is retired or land on the moon.
China is also accelerating its own lunar exploration mission, making it uncertain whether NASA can reach the moon first through the Artemis program.
Sean Duffy, the transportation Minister serving as NASA's acting Director-General, told the candidates that "some countries like China are challenging our leadership in space," adding, "I would be angry if the Chinese enter the moon before NASA or the United States, but we will win, and you will join that great effort."