Luke Delaney of Cobbs Creek is one of 10 new astronaut candidates recently chosen by NASA to train to be a part of the “Artemis generation” of U.S. astronauts.

Selected from a field of more than 12,000 applicants, Delaney is a retired U.S. Marine Corps major who grew up in DeBary, Florida, said a press release on the NASA website. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of North Florida and a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School.

The NASA release describes Delaney as “a distinguished naval aviator” who participated in exercises throughout the Asia Pacific region and conducted combat missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. As a test pilot, he executed numerous flights evaluating weapon systems integration, said the release, and he served as a test pilot instructor.

Delaney retired from the Marine Corps last year and came to Virginia with his wife Tracy to work as a research pilot and aerospace engineer at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, said the release. While there, he has supported airborne science missions. Including his NASA career, he has logged more than 3,700 flight hours on 48 models of jet, propeller, and rotary wing aircraft.

During a brief telephone interview on Tuesday, Delaney said he and Tracy chose Mathews County because they fell in love with the rural setting. They bought a small farmhouse that they renovated, and they’ve been enjoying their time there. While he’s not sure just yet how the transition will work, Delaney said they’ve secured a townhouse in Houston, but since they like their Mathews farmhouse and his wife likes her job at Abbitt Realty, they’ll probably “stretch out” their time here. The Delaneys have two daughters, Briana and Samantha, who are both out on their own now.

Delaney and the other nine candidates will report for duty at the Johnson Space Center in Houston in January to begin two years of training, said the release. Their training will fall into five major categories: operating and maintaining the International Space Station’s complex systems, training for spacewalks, developing complex robotic skills, safely operating a T-38 training jet, and acquiring Russian language skills.

Upon completion of their training, the candidates could be assigned to missions that involve performing research aboard the space station, launching from American soil on spacecraft built by commercial companies, and deep space missions to the Moon and other destinations on NASA’s Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket.

During the introduction ceremony held on Monday at the Johnson Space Center, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said, “Alone, each candidate has ‘the right stuff,’ but together they represent the creed of our country: E pluribus unum—out of many, one.”

With the addition of the 10 new members, NASA has selected 360 astronauts since the original Mercury Seven in 1959, said the release.

“We’ve made many giant leaps throughout the last 60 years, fulfilling President Kennedy’s goal of landing a man on the moon,” said Johnson Center Director Vanessa Wyche. “Today we reach further into the stars as we push forward to the Moon once again and on to Mars with NASA’s newest astronaut candidate class.”

For more about Delaney, visit www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/luke-delaney/biography.