DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - An Illinois man and University of Illinois graduate is among ten selected to join NASA's latest astronaut class, according to an announcement by the space agency on Monday.

U.S. Air Force Maj. Cameron Jones will join nine others after the space agency examined more than 8,000 applicants to help explore the moon and maybe even Mars.

The 2025 astronaut class is the 24th. The last astronaut class was in 2021. They join an exclusive club of just 370 people selected by NASA to be astronauts.

For the first time in NASA's history, there are more women than men in the astronaut class. The six women and four men will undergo two years of training before spaceflight.

“I’m honored to welcome the next generation of American explorers to our agency, said Acting NASA Administr

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