The final group of twelve selected candidates was publicly announced on June 7, 2017.

[2] The class was introduced at a press conference at the Johnson Space Center by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence.

[citation needed] The Group 22 astronaut candidates arrived at the Johnson Space Center in Houston for training in August 2017, and when their approximately two-year-long training program was complete in January 2020, they became available for future missions.

[3] The group earned their "Turtles" nickname after experiencing flooding from Hurricane Harvey shortly after arriving at NASA.

[4] The name was chosen by the preceding astronaut group, "The 8-Balls", according to NASA traditions.