The NASA candidates

2009-09-26 - Pictured in the wilderness of western Maine on August 26, 2009, NASA's newest astronaut class didn't take long to get out "in the field" soon after reporting August 24 to Houston's NASA Johnson Space Center to begin a two year training program. The 2009 Astronaut Candidates (ASCANs) are in the midst of four days of Land Survival Training at the Naval Air Station in Brunswick, Maine. They will continue training for the next two years before individually becoming eligible for spaceflight assignments. The NASA candidates are Serena M. Aunon, Jeanette J. Epps, Jack D. Fischer, Michael S. Hopkins, Kjell N. Lindgren, Kathleen (Kate) Rubins, Scott D. Tingle, Mark T. Vande Hei and Gregory R. (Reid) Wiseman. The CSA ASCANS are David Saint Jacques and Jeremy Hansen. The JAXA trainees are Takuya Onishi and Kimiya Yui. (Credit: NASA)