CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Want to fly to the moon and help build a permanent lunar base? NASA is accepting applications for a new astronaut class that will help grow the Artemis program.
Officials announced the news Saturday during a Kennedy Space Center air show promoting lunar exploration as well as advances in aviation and technology.
NASA’s last call for new astronauts was two years ago. More than 8,000 applied, with 10 making the final cut in September 2025.
With only 32 active astronauts, the space agency needs more recruits as it looks to expand humanity’s presence beyond low-Earth orbit as quickly as possible. April's lunar flyaround by the Artemis II crew kicked off the lunar campaign.
“We have far more work than we have astronauts,” Artemis III commander Randy Bresnik told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Aspiring astronauts have between now and Dec. 3 to submit their applications. NASA expects to make its final selection by late 2027, with the new candidates beginning their training by early 2028 — the same year that NASA intends to return astronauts to the lunar surface after an absence of more than half a century.
By then “we're going to have people on the moon — so don't delay," Bresnik urged potential candidates.
Bresnik and his three crewmates will blast into orbit next summer to practice docking their capsule with a pair of lunar landers, one built by Elon Musk's SpaceX and the other by Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin. Their mission will stick close to Earth — no lunar flyby — and serve as a dress rehearsal for the following year's Artemis IV mission that will attempt to land two astronauts near the lunar south pole.
The moon base will materialize as more rovers, robots, structures and power grids are launched.
Patience is essential for becoming an astronaut, noted Artemis III's Frank Rubio, whose 371 consecutive days in space is a U.S. endurance record. Candidates must also be U.S. citizens with college degrees and professional work experience.
The two years of mandatory training can be grueling, and it could take another several years on top of that before finally rocketing into space.
“It's important for them to realize most of that work is not going to the moon, right?" Rubio told the AP. “That will be about 1% of your experience. What you're doing is contributing to the mission of going to the moon.”
This will be NASA's 25th astronaut class since the original Mercury Seven in 1959.
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NASA's Astronaut Class of 2025 pose for a group photo on Sept. 17, 2025. (Josh Valcarcel/NASA-JSC via AP)
KRAKOW, Poland (AP) — Drone footage appears to show dead bodies in the home of the man behind the Krakow mass-shooting, Polish leader says.
THIS IS AN APNewsAlert. Check back for updates. AP's earlier story is below.
A Polish man with far-right views drove into a busy central square in Krakow on Saturday and opened fire, killing six people and injuring 15 others before police shot and wounded him, authorities said.
The attack, which Poland’s defense minister described as an “act of terror,” happened in Main Square, which is in the heart of Krakow’s Old Town and is a major tourist hub in the country’s second-largest city.
The 25-year-old attacker drove to multiple spots in the square and opened fire at each stop with an automatic weapon, authorities said. Although they didn’t release his name, Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said the man holds “very radical” and “ultranationalistic” views.
"Everything indicates that he was fascinated by far-right ideologies,” Kierwiński said at a news conference.
Four women and two men were killed. At least three of the women were Polish, and one of the dead was a U.K. citizen, authorities said at a news conference. Police were still trying to identify the other two people killed hours after the attack.
Two police officers were among the injured, including one whose injuries were serious, Kierwiński said. Also injured in the attack were five non-Poles, police commander Marek Boroń said.
Authorities said a total of 13 people were hospitalized in serious condition, though that figure may include the gunman, who underwent surgery after the attack.
It's unclear how many of the injured were shot. Two of them were treated and released within hours of the mass shooting.
The attacker wore military-style fatigues and a bulletproof vest, and used a military-type long gun, Krakow police spokesperson Katarzyna Cisło said. Police found many other weapons and ammunition in his car. He kept firing at the police even after being shot himself, she said.
The attacker engaged in a “wild ride” around Main Square, which is why people were wounded at several locations, Cisło said.
Cisło added that the gunman acted alone and that the public is safe.
Krakow mayor Łukasz Gibała said the city will be in official mourning until Wednesday. He vowed that Krakow will remain open to visitors despite the tragedy.
“The square will belong to us again,” Gibała said in a video posted to X.
Videos posted on social media by witnesses show people running away from the square to take cover on small streets nearby, as well as first responders trying to resuscitate victims. In one video, a police officer is seen repeatedly shooting the attacker, who is lying on the street, only to later slowly collapse himself to the ground.
Photos showed a Polish Medical Air Rescue helicopter after it landed in the square.
It was not immediately clear whether the firearm used in Saturday’s attack, or the guns found in the perpetrator’s car, were legal. Around 411,000 people hold gun permits in Poland, which has a population of 37 million, and interest in gun ownership has been rising.
Mass shootings are uncommon in Poland. However, in mid-October three attacks at schools in the central province of Mazovia took place within four days, leaving one person dead and many wounded, including children.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk, in a post on X, praised the police officers who responded to Saturday’s tragedy. President Karol Nawrocki said his thoughts were with the victims, the wounded and their families.
A tram driver reported around 3 p.m. that his vehicle was shot at by a man in a moving car while passing nearby the main square, the Krakow municipal transport company said. The window to the tram driver’s cabin was shattered.
Animal rights group OTOZ Animals said the attacker also shot two horses. Both animals are alive, but one was grazed by a bullet and the other hit in the leg. White carriages drawn by horses are a main tourist attraction in the square.
Warsaw mayor Rafał Trzaskowski announced increased security measures, including road barriers, along main streets in the old town in the Polish capital in the aftermath of the Krakow attack.
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Ciobanu reported from Warsaw, Poland and Dazio reported from Berlin.
Armed police officers secure a cordoned off area after a shooter opened fire in a market square in Krakow, Poland, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, leaving people dead and injured, according to authorities. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz speaks during a press conference after a shooter opened fire in a market square in Krakow, Poland, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, leaving people dead and injured, according to authorities. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
Police cars are parked in a cordoned off area after a shooter opened fire in a market square in Krakow, Poland, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, leaving people dead and injured, according to authorities. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
Police privacy screens are installed in a cordoned off area after a shooter opened fire in a market square in Krakow, Poland, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, leaving people dead and injured, according to authorities. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
Police privacy screens are installed in a cordoned off area after a shooter opened fire in a market square in Krakow, Poland, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, leaving people dead and injured, according to authorities. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
An armed police officer secures a cordoned off area after a shooter opened fire in a market square in Krakow, Poland, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, leaving people dead and injured, according to authorities. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
Armed police officers secure a cordoned off area after a shooter opened fire in a market square in Krakow, Poland, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, leaving people dead and injured, according to authorities. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
