On Monday, September 22, NASA unveiled its newest group of astronaut candidates, naming Dr. Imelda Muller, M.D., a University of Vermont alumna, among ten individuals selected for the nation’s next generation of space explorers, UVM announced.
Muller, 34, who grew up in Copake Falls, N.Y., was chosen from a highly competitive field of nearly 8,000 applicants. Her class marks the 24th group of astronaut candidates since NASA introduced the legendary “Mercury Seven” in 1959.
For Muller, who earned her UVM medical degree in 2017, the announcement was the culmination of a career spent at the intersection of medicine, the military, and human performance in extreme environments.
“With upcoming exploration missions, we are pushing the boundaries of human performance and the lessons that we learn, the knowledge that we gain, all of these things are going to help us to excel not just in space, but in areas of human health here on earth,” Muller said at the Johnson Space Center. “The future of space medicine is now and I’m incredibly honored to be here with this team.”
From the Sea to Space
Before medical school, Muller studied behavioral neuroscience at Northeastern University and later commissioned as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. She trained at the Naval Undersea Medical Institute and went on to serve as an undersea medical officer, providing support for operational diving missions and later for astronaut training dives at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory in Houston.
“That experience gave me the opportunity to work with multidisciplinary teams in experimental and saturation diving, and I developed a passion for learning about the way the body adapts in extreme environments,” Muller said. “This led me to pursue medical residency training in anesthesia, where I deepened that understanding of how our body responds when it’s under stress.”
After earning her M.D. from UVM’s Larner College of Medicine, Muller trained at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego and then entered a residency in anesthesia and critical care medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. At Hopkins, she became affiliated with the Human Spaceflight Lab, blending her clinical expertise with research into how human physiology adapts in space.
Muller’s selection has resonated strongly with her alma mater. UVM President Marlene Tromp, who attended the announcement in Houston, called it a historic moment for the university community.
“The UVM community is thrilled to see Dr. Imelda Muller joining NASA’s newest cadre of astronaut candidates,” Tromp said. “UVM’s Larner College of Medicine has always produced physicians who make a positive and profound impact on Vermont and the wider world. It’s wonderful to think that Dr. Muller has already extended that mission to the depths of the seas, in her work for Naval Sea Systems, and now into the stars. We are so proud to call Dr. Muller a UVM alum.”
UVM has long maintained ties to NASA through the Vermont Space Grant Consortium, part of a nationwide network that connects university researchers, faculty, and students with NASA programs. Larner medical students have also participated in NASA’s Aerospace Medicine Clerkship, a four-week immersion at Johnson Space Center that exposes future physicians to the unique challenges of space medicine.
Training for the Future
Muller now joins her nine fellow astronaut candidates in a rigorous two-year training program at Johnson Space Center. Their preparation will include survival training on land and water, extensive courses in geology, and countless hours in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab simulating spacewalks.
NASA’s astronaut corps plays a central role in the agency’s future missions, from supporting operations on the International Space Station to preparing for Artemis flights to the Moon — and eventually, human missions to Mars.
Muller, who has already charted a path from the depths of the ocean to the edge of human exploration, is ready to take the next step.
“Every stage of my journey has been about understanding how humans adapt in the most challenging environments,” she said. “Now, I have the chance to bring that knowledge into space — and to contribute to the next chapter of exploration.”