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NASA has opened applications for a new class of astronauts who will train to operate on the lunar surface and live and work beyond Earth as the agency grows its Artemis programme. Applications close on December 3, and the agency expects to make its final selection by late 2027, with training starting by early 2028, the year it intends to return astronauts to the lunar surface after more than half a century. The announcement was made on Saturday at a Kennedy Space Center air show, and it is NASA's first astronaut recruitment in two years; more than 8,000 people applied last time, and 10 were selected in September 2025. NASA has only 32 active astronauts, and Artemis III commander Randy Bresnik told the Associated Press that "we have far more work than we have astronauts." Candidates must be US citizens with college degrees and professional work experience, and training takes two years of mandatory work before any flight. Frank Rubio, who holds the US endurance record of 371 consecutive days in space, told the Associated Press that most of the work is not going to the moon. France 24 reported the recruitment as part of NASA's broader push to expand human presence in space.