Illinois man among 10 chosen for new NASA astronaut class

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - An Illinois man and University of Illinois graduate is among ten selected to join NASA's latest astronaut class, according to an announcement by the space agency on Monday.

U.S. Air Force Maj. Cameron Jones will join nine others after the space agency examined more than 8,000 applicants to help explore the moon and maybe even Mars.

The 2025 astronaut class is the 24th. The last astronaut class was in 2021. They join an exclusive club of just 370 people selected by NASA to be astronauts.

For the first time in NASA's history, there are more women than men in the astronaut class. The six women and four men will undergo two years of training before spaceflight.

“I’m honored to welcome the next generation of American explorers to our agency, said Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy. "More than 8,000 people applied – scientists, pilots, engineers, dreamers from every corner of this nation."

According to NASA, Jones was born in Iowa but calls Savannah, Illinois, his hometown. He holds aerospace engineering bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base and the U.S. Air Force Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base.

A majority of his flight time is in the F-22 Raptor.

Jones and the other astronaut candidates recently reported for duty at NASA's Johnson Space Center.

Currently, NASA has 41 active astronauts who primarily conduct missions on the International Space Station and are preparing for a transition to commercial space stations that may include missions to the moon and Mars.

Jones and his wife Cristi have a daughter.