Exciting News: Former Skyline High School Student Selected for NASA Astronaut Candidate Class!

A woman from Western Washington has just been selected by NASA to join the astronaut candidate class for 2025. Lauren Edgar, at 40 years old, is a geologist with roots in Sammamish and a proud graduate of Skyline High School. She is one of just 10 candidates chosen this year.

In an exciting announcement from NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Deputy Director Stephen Koerner shared that these new candidates will undergo rigorous training. “They’ll learn about geology, survival skills, and even space health. They’ll train in high-performance jets,” he said. This training aims to push the limits of what we can do in space and inspire global discovery.

Edgar holds advanced degrees in geology from the California Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College. With over 17 years in mission operations, she was recently the deputy principal investigator for the Artemis III Geology Team. She expressed her excitement, sharing, “I’m thrilled to be part of the NASA family and eager to explore the moon and Mars.”

Rebecca Bird, Edgar’s former physics teacher, reminisced about her student. “I knew she was always interested in NASA and dreamed of being an astronaut,” she said. Bird encouraged others to pursue their dreams, suggesting that science is for everyone, regardless of gender.

Historically, NASA has selected 370 astronaut candidates since 1959, and Edgar makes it 61 women in that number. Amid new interest in space travel, it’s worth noting that women are increasingly represented in aerospace fields. Recent statistics show that in 2021, women made up 27% of the aerospace workforce, a significant increase compared to previous decades.

This shift is part of a broader trend towards inclusivity in STEM fields, which is essential for future innovation. As society evolves, the message becomes clearer: anyone with passion and discipline can reach for the stars, just like Lauren Edgar.



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