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NASA graduating class of 2024
Photo: Yi-Chin Lee / Houston Chronicle / AP
NASA officially celebrated the completion of astronaut training with a gala on Tuesday in Houston, Texas.
Twelve astronauts - four women and six men from the USA, as well as one woman and one man from the United Arab Emirates - are now ready for missions to the moon and Mars after around two years of training with the US space agency NASA.
Around 12,000 people responded to a call for applications in 2020, NASA said.
The requirements were: US citizenship, a master's degree in a scientific field, at least two years of professional experience or at least 1,000 hours of flight training and passing a fitness test.
Four women and six men between the ages of 32 and 45 from different regions of the USA were selected from the 12,000 applications.
The two training candidates from the United Arab Emirates were later added.
Anyone who would like to follow them can apply for NASA's next training course until April 2, 2024.
The same requirements apply as before.
In total, NASA has selected around 360 astronauts in its history, and around 50 are currently actively available.
sug/dpa