An astronaut candidate from Illinois was introduced today as one of 10 selected by NASA for potential exploration missions to the moon and Mars.

The class will now begin nearly two years of training before being eligible for space missions in 2027.

The candidates were chosen through a "competitive selection process" of more than 8,000 applicants across the U.S. and will join the pool of 360 Americans that have been selected for service in the U.S. space program since 1959, according to NASA.

Here's what we know.

2025 NASA astronaut candidates

NASA announced the following 10 candidates:

Ben Bailey (38) from Charlottesville, Virginia

Lauren Edgar (40) from Sammamish, Washington

Adam Fuhrmann (35) from Leesburg, Virginia

Cameron Jones (35) from Savanna, Illinois

Yuri Kubo (40

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