Space: Nasa's newest astronauts could be heading to the Moon and Mars!
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Meet the new Nasa astronauts who could go to Mars!
After more than two years of intense training, 13 new astronauts are all set for space.
They graduated on January 10 2020.
This class of January 2020 have been nicknamed 'the Turtles' and have a very bright future ahead of them.
With a revisit to the Moon and missions to Mars, who knows where they might end up!
Will we see some of these faces heading back to the Moon?
What do we know about the 'Turtles'?
Well, this group weren't picked by accident, there were over 18,000 applicants - a record breaking number for Nasa!
They have been put through more than two years of intense training and the team is made up of seven men and six women.
It's a really diverse group, with people from all different backgrounds including Nasa's first Iranian-American astronaut, Jasmin Moghbeli.
The 'Turtles' could end up on Mars
They are the best of the best: They are highly qualified and very diverse, and they represent all of America.
Even though their first flight might not be for a couple of years, they could be travelling in some of Nasa's newest vehicles.
SpaceX and Boeing have been working on new spacecrafts to take astronauts to and from the international Space Station.
They hope to have them ready for use as early as this year!
Nasa hope to send the first female astronaut to the Moon by 2024!
It's not all rockets and moon boots, there's lots of ground work too
So what will they do before setting for the stars?
The astronauts will have a number of roles.
Some will help with developing and testing space crafts, others will work on on-going missions.
Others will continue working with robotics and space walking - lots to do!
When graduating the astronauts are given a silver pin and will receive a gold one once they've been to space!
Could you be an astronaut?
How do you become an astronaut?
Well there's no right or wrong way but there are some handy tips.
Most astronauts study something at university before they actually become an astronaut.
They usually study sciences, engineering and sometimes medicine. A lot of astronauts also learn to fly an aeroplane as well.
Astronauts come from all over the world, so it's handy to know a second or maybe even a third language!
Work hard and keep going.
When I was a sixth-grader and said I was going to become an astronaut, do you think everyone was like, 'Yep, she's going to become an astronaut'? Probably not.
Being active and healthy is essential, training can be tough so being active and eating well helps a lot.
You've got to be nice to other people, space rockets are very small places and you could be on the same one with someone for years!
Do you want to be an astronaut? We'd love to hear from you, let us know what you want to do in the future!
- Published6 January 2020
- Published19 April 2018
