LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- NASA introduced its newest class of astronauts, and two of them are from Kentuckiana.
Erin Overcash, 34, is from Goshen, Kentucky, and Yuri Kubo, 40, is from Columbus, Indiana.
According to a news release from NASA, Overcash graduated from North Oldham High School. She is a lieutenant commander of the U.S. Navy and a U.S. Naval Test Pilot School graduate. She has more than 1,300 flight hours in 20 different aircrafts. She also trained full-time at the Olympic Training Center with the USA Rugby Women's National Team.
Overcash is a two-time Kentucky State Champion High Jumper, and is an Ironman Triathlete. She enjoys reading, adventure motorcycling, challenging workouts, and spending time with friends and family. She is married to another naval aviator.
A graduate of Purdue University, Kubo spent 12 years working across different teams at SpaceX, including launch director for Falcon 9 rocket launches. He was previously a co-op student at NASA Johnson, according to the news release. He completed tours supporting the Orion spacecraft, the International Space Station and more.
Overcash and Kubo are among 10 members of the 2025 class. They were selected from a pool of more than 8,000 applicants. Both candidates will spend their next two years in intensive training as they prepare to explore the moon and Mars!
For the first time, there were more women than men in an incoming astronaut class. They included a geologist who worked on NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover and a SpaceX engineer who’s already rocketed into orbit, flying on a billionaire-sponsored mission that featured the world’s first private spacewalk last year.
The six women and four men will undergo two years of training before becoming eligible for spaceflight.
Acting Administrator Sean Duffy said one of them could become one of the first to step on Mars. He also stressed that the U.S. will win this second race to land astronauts on the moon.
“You are America’s best and brightest, and we’re going to need America’s best and brightest because we have a bold exploration plan for the future,” Duffy said at Monday’s ceremony at Johnson Space Center in Houston. “Some are challenging our leadership in space, say like the Chinese ... We are going to win.”
It is the 24th astronaut class for NASA since the original Mercury Seven made their debut in 1959. The previous class was in 2021.
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