science

NASA Astronaut Group 21

NASA Astronaut Group 21 is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand NASA Astronaut Group 21 rather than just read about it. In short: In 2011, NASA opened applications for Astronaut Group 21. The team was announced in June 2013 after a year and a half long search.

Key takeaways

NASA Astronaut Group 21 belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect NASA Astronaut Group 21 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of NASA Astronaut Group 21 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

In 2011, NASA opened applications for Astronaut Group 21. The team was announced in June 2013 after a year and a half long search. With four men and four women, the class of 2013 had the highest percentage of female finalists. According to NASA astronaut Kathleen Rubins, "it's… a reflection of how many really talented women are in science and engineering these days." NASA received a total of over 6,300 applications, which made it the second highest number received at the time (the class of 2017 surpassed both records with a total of more than 18,300). Traditionally, the upcoming class is given a nickname by the previous class. Following this custom, the class of 2009 (also known as "The Chumps") christened the 2013 class the "Eight Balls" in reference to there being eight of them. Bob Behnken, then Chief of the Astronaut Office, stated in an interview that the name further represents that, "The eight ball [in billiards or pool] is played last and the hope from the preceding class is that the [2013 astronaut candidates] will be assigned after all of them [fly]." The team consists of eight people, Jessica Meir, Ph.D., Major Nicole Mann, Lt. Commander Josh Cassada, Ph.D., Lt. Colonel Nick Hague, Christina Koch, Major Andrew Morgan, M.D., Lt. Commander Victor Glover, and Lt. Colonel Anne McClain. All eight members of the group have flown in space as of October 2022. Five placed on the list of then-longest spaceflights for NASA astronauts, with Koch holding the record for the longest single spaceflight for a woman since 2019. In 2019, Meir and Koch became the first women to participate in an all-female spacewalk. With the Artemis II lunar flyby in 2026, Glover and Koch became the first person of color and the first woman respectively to travel beyond low Earth orbit and to the Moon's vicinity.

History On April 9, 1959, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced the finalists for Astronaut Group 1. This group of seven astronauts, also sometimes known as the "Original Seven" or the "Mercury Seven" were a part of the first human spaceflight program, called Project Mercury. Since the original group, the total number of astronaut groups has grown to 22 as of 2017. The Group 21 class joined 47 other active NASA astronauts.

Selection and training

A requirement for selection to the astronaut program is to have United States citizenship and a degree in science, engineering or math. In addition, three years of professional experience for non-pilots and at least 1000 hours of jet flight time for pilots is required. Community service is an advantage. Lastly, applicants must be able to pass the NASA flight physical. The selection process takes approximately 18 months. Astronaut candidates go through two years of training. They study engineering, Earth and space science, meteorology and space station systems. They also undergo strenuous survival training including scuba certification and swim test qualifications. After this stage, the astronauts who are selected to continue work with senior astronauts who mentor them in furthering their training. In the final training period, the astronauts focus on the specific requirements for their mission.

Group members

Josh A. Cassada (1 flight), born 18 July 1973 in San Diego, California; retired 1 October 2024 Pilot – SpaceX Crew-5 (Expedition 68) – 5 October 2022 Victor Glover (2 flights), born 30 April 1976 in Pomona, California Pilot – SpaceX Crew-1 (Expedition 64/65) – 16 November 2020 Pilot – Artemis II Nick Hague (2 flights), born 24 September 1975 in Belleville, Kansas; retired 23 December 2025 Flight engineer – Soyuz MS-10 (Expedition 57/58) – 11 October 2018 (aborted suborbital flight) Flight engineer – Soyuz MS-12 (Expedition 59/60) – 14 March 2019 Commander – SpaceX Crew-9 (Expedition 72) – 28 September 2024 Christina Koch (2 flights), born 29 January 1979 in Grand Rapids, Michigan Flight engineer – Soyuz MS-12/Soyuz MS-13 (Expedition 59/60/61) – 14 March 2019 Mission specialist – Artemis II Nicole Aunapu Mann (1 flight), born 27 June 1977 in Petaluma, California Commander – SpaceX Crew-5 (Expedition 68) – 5 October 2022 Anne McClain (2 flights), born 7 June 1979 in Spokane, Washington Flight engineer – Soyuz MS-11 (Expedition 57/58/59) – 3 December 2018 Commander – SpaceX Crew-10 (Expedition 72/73) – 14 March 2025 Jessica Meir (2 flights), born 1 July 1977 in Caribou, Maine Flight engineer – Soyuz MS-15 (Expedition 61/62) – 25 September 2019 Commander – SpaceX Crew-12 (Expedition 74/75) – 13 February 2026 Andrew R. Morgan (1 flight), born 5 February 1976 in Morgantown, West Virginia; retired 28 May 2026 Flight engineer – Soyuz MS-13/Soyuz MS-15 (Expedition 60/61/62) – 20 July 2019

Mission

The 2013 class was originally thought to be the "first who will be trained for exploration beyond Earth orbit since the Apollo years". Their first goal was to have been to visit a near-earth asteroid in 2020 as preparation for an eventual mission to Mars. Current NASA goals do not include an asteroid mission. Artemis II, the first crewed mission beyond Earth orbit since Apollo, ultimately took place in 2026. Two members of the group, Christina Koch and Victor Glover, were crew members of this mission. All eight members of the group have completed their training and have flown or are currently flying. Five were assigned to Soyuz expeditions to the International Space Station (ISS) with Hague as the first of the class to be assigned to fly aboard Expedition 57/58 in November 2018, his flight being aborted during launch. McClain was on 58/59, Hammock Koch and Hague (on his reflight) on 59/60, Morgan on 60/61, and Meir on 61/62. Three other members were assigned to the Commercial Crew cadre for flights to the ISS: Mann was assigned to Boe-CFT and Cassada on CTS-1, both aboard Boeing's Starliner, and Glover was assigned to SpaceX's Dragon 2. Glover flew on SpaceX Crew-1, and Mann and Cassada were subsequently reassigned to Crew Dragon due to delays to Boeing Starliner entering service. Both flew on SpaceX Crew-5.

See also NASA Astronaut Group 22 List of astronauts by year of selection

References

External links 2013 astronaut candidate class Official announcement from NASA AstroClass2013 on X NASA astronaut selection website Archived November 1, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Photostream of Group 21

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with NASA Astronaut Group 21

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what NASA Astronaut Group 21 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to NASA Astronaut Group 21 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about NASA Astronaut Group 21 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of NASA Astronaut Group 21

In research: NASA Astronaut Group 21 appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses NASA Astronaut Group 21 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: NASA Astronaut Group 21 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2013 establishments in the United States, 2013 in spaceflight, Christina Koch, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for NASA Astronaut Group 21 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “NASA Astronaut Group 21” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study NASA Astronaut Group 21 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what NASA Astronaut Group 21 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain NASA Astronaut Group 21 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is NASA Astronaut Group 21 in simple terms?

In 2011, NASA opened applications for Astronaut Group 21. The team was announced in June 2013 after a year and a half long search.

Why does NASA Astronaut Group 21 matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study NASA Astronaut Group 21?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on NASA Astronaut Group 21.