Poderia ser a série Young Astronauts de Rick North (1990)?
In this first book of a series, the United Nations has selected the world's brightest students to launch an ambitious space program--the colonization of Mars. Teams of teenagers have been invited to Houston for training and evaluation, but only the highest-scoring groups will be chosen for the mission. Fair-minded Nathan, an American, soon discovers the keen competition, as do his team members: the handsome Russian, Sergei; Noemi, a fashion-conscious math whiz from Venezuela; Lanie, a troubled American computer whiz; Genshiro, a brilliant Japanese; the level-headed Alice, a New Zealander; and Karl, a German who is grieving over his mother's untimely death.
Esta outra referência de astronautas ficcionais também combina com a série com os nomes dos ônibus espaciais: Nina, Pinta, Santa Maria Também fornece uma lista de caracteres.