— NASA's newest astronaut candidates have just been labeled the oddest of them all.

The 10 women and men who were selected to train for spaceflight in September 2025, have now been given their official nickname. Following a long-standing custom, the previous group of astronauts chose the moniker for their successors.

NASA's 24th class of "ascans" are the Platypi.

"They have many diverse and sometimes hidden talents, like the platypus," Anil Menon, who with Chris Birch helped organize the choice of their 2021 classmates, said in a statement. "Our main driver was that this class stood out as extremely capable, with a lot of different skills, while also being very friendly and supportive of each other."

The platypus is widely considered to be one of the weirdest creatures on the planet. It is a mammal, but it lays eggs; it has the bill of a duck, but is carnivorous and has a venomous spur; and it has the tail of beaver, but the body of an otter.

Traditionally, the class nicknames are both complimentary and, while all in fun, depreciating in nature. The 23rd group were the Flies, which in one respect could be seen as being called cool (e.g. "Super Fly"), but on the other, turtles eat flies — the 22nd class, which named the Flies, was the Turtles.

"They're like the Swiss Army knife of candidates," said Menon. "They can use just about any tool to solve any problem or challenge they face. They're unassuming and incredibly kind, but extremely capable."

Then again, although unsaid, there is no escaping that the platypus is odd. Already known to glow under UV (ultraviolet) light and have the ability to sense electricity through receptors in its bill, scientists just discovered that the cells that give the platypus its color are more bird-like than they are mammal.

The Platypi is also weird as nicknames go. Other than referencing humans (e.g. Class 1, the Original 7 or Class 8, the TFNG — the Thirty-Five New Guys) there has been only one other group named after a mammal: Class 14, the Hogs, selected in 1992. More common are insects (e.g. Class 10, the Maggots and Class 18, the Bugs) and birds (e.g. Class 17, the Penguins and Class 19, the Peacocks).

The candidates selected in 2009 lobbied to be called the Chimps, but ended up being named the Chumps.

The newly-named Platypi include Ben Bailey, Lauren Edgar, Adam Fuhrmann, Cameron Jones, Yuri Kubo, Rebecca Lawler, Anna Menon, Imelda Muller, Erin Overcash and Katherine Spies.

"Our training has already been diverse and dynamic," said Anna Menon, Anil's wife and former commercial astronaut, having flown on SpaceX's Polaris Dawn mission in 2004. "There is a lot to learn, and I'm excited about every chapter!"

To date, the ascans have received instruction in operating the Canadarm2 robotic arm and other International Space Station systems, orbital mechanics and flight operations. They have also completed survival training in the event they landed in remote environments after a mission.

The Platypi have begun spacewalk training, diving in NASA's underwater Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory to simulate microgravity, and have flown in the agency's T-38 supersonic jets and other aircraft at Ellington Field, near their home base of Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Still to come will be lessons in the NASA and commercial spacecraft and studying geology in classrooms and field settings for future Artemis missions to the Moon. The class will also work shifts in Mission Control, helping to oversee their soon-to-be fellow astronauts and vehicles.

"The Platypus is perfectly adapted to its environment," read a NASA meme posted to social media about the new class. "The name reflects a team made stronger by many different strengths coming together."

If they follow another custom, the Platypi will next design a patch that reflects their nickname and the traits that set their group apart. They are expected to graduate from basic training and earn their silver astronaut pin in 2027.