When NASA announced the astronauts for Artemis III, the next mission in its return-to-the-moon efforts, the crew being composed entirely of men sparked discussion among many.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman strongly objected to criticism surrounding the crew selection.
“I don’t think anyone should be reading into this,” Mr. Isaacman said to reporters at NASA’s Johnson Space Center on Tuesday after the crew announcement. “Our last astronaut candidate class was greater than 50 percent female. We’ll assemble the best astronauts to undertake the objectives.”
The 10 people NASA selected last year to be its newest astronauts included six women, the first time women outnumbered men, though the group appeared less racially diverse.
The all-male Artemis III crew includes Andre Douglas, who is Black, and Frank Rubio, who is Latino.
In an interview with The New York Times on Friday, Mr. Isaacman said NASA followed standard procedures overseen by Scott Tingle, the chief of the astronaut office, and Norman Knight, the director of the flight operations directorate.
“I didn’t pick the crew,” Mr. Isaacman said. “Our goal is always to put the best astronauts on the mission to give it the highest probability of success, and that’s based on expertise and background and availability.”
When asked if the astronaut selection process is gender- and race-blind, Mr. Isaacman confirmed, “Of course.”
For decades, NASA prioritized diversity in astronaut recruitment. NASA invites applications once every few years and typically selects about a dozen people. Since 1978, every new class of astronauts has included women and usually reflected a multiplicity of races and ethnicities.
“You didn’t lose sight of wanting your astronaut corps to be reflective of society,” said Duane Ross, who worked as manager of NASA’s astronaut selection office from 1976 until he retired in 2014.
He noted that with so many outstanding applicants, choosing a diversified, highly qualified group of candidates was an achievable goal.
Last year, the Trump administration dismantled D.E.I. programs throughout the federal government, including at NASA.
Expressing a mix of emotions, Sian Proctor, who flew to space in 2021 with Mr. Isaacman on a private astronaut mission, responded on Instagram. “Congratulations to the NASA Artemis III crew! Your success will pave the way for the … all-women Artemis IV crew.”
Mr. Isaacman noted that recent International Space Station missions included many female astronauts, including the Crew-10 mission, where the two NASA astronauts serving as commander and pilot were women. (The other crew members were men, chosen by Roscosmos, Russia’s space program, and JAXA, Japan’s space agency.)
Many senior officials at NASA are also women, he said. “You’re trying to find controversy where it doesn’t need to be,” he added.
Mr. Isaacman also indicated that a woman could be positioned to walk on the moon in the coming years.
He argued that reassigning an astronaut who has been focused on spacesuit development—and might be one of the best candidates for a lunar landing—would be counterproductive. “That’s not how you run a space agency,” he said.
