Meet the Platypi: NASA’s Newest Astronaut Candidate Class
NASA introduced its newest class of astronaut candidates, informally nicknamed the “Platypi,” during a welcome event at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on March 30, 2026. The group of 15 candidates will begin two years of training that will prepare them for potential assignments to the International Space Station (ISS), NASA’s Artemis lunar exploration missions, and other human spaceflight operations. The announcement follows NASA’s 2025 astronaut candidate selection and reflects the agency’s ongoing commitment to expanding its corps of human spaceflight personnel.
The “Platypi” class includes individuals with backgrounds in engineering, science, military aviation, medical research and international partnerships, bringing diverse expertise to NASA’s astronaut corps. Candidate activities will initially focus on mission systems, robotics, spacewalk procedures, Russian language proficiency and survival training. The curriculum is designed to ready candidates for both low Earth orbit assignments aboard the ISS and deep space missions beyond, with emphasis on teamwork, technical problem‑solving and hardware operations. Candidates will also train on NASA’s Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System (SLS) systems and commercial crew vehicles to build operational experience across evolving space transport platforms.
NASA selected this class as part of its broader human exploration strategy, which includes sustaining a continuous presence aboard the ISS, supporting Artemis II and future lunar missions, and enabling partnerships with commercial and international spaceflight providers. The training pipeline places candidates on track for certification as mission‑ready astronauts upon successful completion of the intensive programme. NASA’s addition of these new candidates reflects the agency’s efforts to maintain a robust workforce capable of executing complex human spaceflight operations.
