Cameron Jones, a native of Savanna, Illinois, was one of 10 people selected as the All-American 2025 Class of Astronaut Candidates by NASA, according to a Monday press release from the agency.
The 10 candidates were chosen through a competitive selection process of more than 8,000 candidates from around the United States. Candidates will complete two years of training before becoming eligible for space assignments supporting missions to low Earth orbit, the moon and Mars.
The training includes instruction and skills development for operations aboard the International Space Station and Artemis missions to the moon. The training covers robotics, land and water survival, geology, foreign languages, space medicine and more, while conducting simulated spacewalks and flying high-performance jets.
After graduation, the candidates will join NASA’s active astronaut corps.
Jones, 35, holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aerospace engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California and the U.S. Air Force Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. He has more than 1,600 flight hours, including 150 combat hours, in more than 30 different aircraft, mostly on the F-22 Raptor, according to the press release.
Jones is a graduate of West Carroll High School in Savanna.
At the time of his selection, Jones was an Air Force Academic Fellow at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, part of the Department of Defense.
Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy welcomed the candidates during a ceremony at Johnson Space Center in Houston on Monday.
“The 10 men and women sitting here today embody the truth that in America, regardless of where you start, there is no limit to what a determined dreamer can achieve — even going to space,” Duffy said at the ceremony.
With these new candidates, NASA has now recruited 370 astronaut candidates since selecting the initial Mercury Seven in 1959.
Love
0
Funny
0
Wow
0
Sad
0
Angry
0
Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox!
Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.
* I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
Nina Baker
Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!
Your notification has been saved.
There was a problem saving your notification.
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Followed notifications
Please log in to use this feature
Log In
Don’t have an account? Sign Up Today