NASA chose 12 new astronauts Wednesday from its biggest pool of applicants ever, selecting seven men and five women who could one day fly aboard the nation's next generation of spacecraft. (June 8) AP

In this photo obtained from NASA, the 2017 NASA astronaut candidates stop to take a group photo while getting fitted for flight suits at Ellington Field near NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on June 7, 2017.(Photo: HO, AFP/Getty Images)

Talk about the right stuff.

NASA on Wednesday named a dozen new astronauts seven men and five women selected from a record pool of more than 18,000applicants, more than double the previous high of 8,000.

You are the 12 who made it through, you have joined the elites, you are the best of us, Vice President Mike Pence said during a ceremony at Johnson Space Center in Houston."You carry on your shoulders the hopes and dreams of the American people."

NASA's diverse Class of 2017 includes six military officers, two of them doctors. It includesa marine biologist involved in Antarctic expeditions, a geologist who has worked with NASAs Mars Curiosity rover, and a SpaceX engineer who might ride a rocket and capsule he helped design.

We do things because they are hard, and then we crush it, said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Raja Chari, a 39-year-old test pilot from Iowa, when asked about the opportunity to fly a spaceship.

The group ranges in age from 29 to 42 andhails from 10 states. Each member holds an advanced degree.

Families and VIP guests cheered as the astronaut candidates, as they will be called until completing a two-year training program, walked onto a stage wearing blue NASA flight suits.

Chari was joined by Kayla Barron, 29; Zena Cardman, 29;Matthew Dominick, 35; Bob Hines, 42; Warren "Woody" Hoburg, 31;Dr. Jonny Kim, 33; Robb Kulin, 33; Jasmin Moghbeli, 33; Loral OHara, 34; Dr. Francisco"Frank" Rubio, 41; and Jessica Watkins, 29.

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The future astronauts might perform science research aboard the International Space Station, flying to the orbiting laboratory in Boeing Starliner or SpaceX Dragon capsules launching from Cape Canaveral, or in Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

They could be assigned to the first exploration missions beyond low Earth orbit since the last Apollo moon landing in 1972.

The 2017 astronaut class is NASAs 22nd, nearly 60 years after the 1959 introduction of the Mercury Seven amid a space race with the Soviet Union.

To apply, applicants had to be a U.S. citizen, have a degree in a science, technology, engineering or mathfield and at least three years of related experience, or at least 1,000 hours piloting jet aircraft.

Starting last year, selection teams winnowed the field of18,353applicants to 120 and then 50 finalists.

The astronauts-in-training will report to Houston in August to begin studying space station systems, learning Russian and flying T-38 jets.

Contact Dean at 321-242-3668 orjdean@floridatoday.com. And follow on Twitter at@flatoday_jdeanand on Facebook atfacebook.com/jamesdeanspace.

SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon 9 rocket on a mission to the International Space Station and landed the first stage at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station shortly after on Saturday, June 3, 2017.

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SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch included a 13,500-pound satellite that's close to the size of a double-decker bus. USA TODAY

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SpaceX launched a classified National Reconnaissance Office payload from Kennedy Space Center Monday morning and successfully landed the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket.

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An Atlas V rocket blasts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Tuesday, April 18, 2017 with a Cygnus spacecraft for the International Space Station.

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In a historic first for the company and the industry, SpaceX launched and landed a "flight proven," or refurbished, Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center.

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A Delta IV rocket carrying the military's WGS-9 satellite blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Saturday, March 18, 2017.

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SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket blasts off from Kennedy Space Center with the EchoStar 23 communications satellite on Thursday, March 16, 2017.

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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully blasted off from Kennedy Space Center's historic pad 39A on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017. The first stage returned for a successful landing in Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

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An Atlas V rocket blasts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station with the SBIRS missile detection satellite on Friday, Jan. 20, 2017.

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SpaceX launches Falcon 9 from KSC, lands at Cape

SpaceX launches satellite size of a double-decker bus

SpaceX launches Falcon 9 from KSC, nails landing

Atlas V rocket blasts off on mission with Cygnus spacecraft

SpaceX launches, lands 'flight proven' Falcon 9

Delta IV rocket launches from Cape Canaveral

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from Kennedy Space Center

Falcon 9 blasts off from KSC, lands at Cape

Atlas V rocket blasts off with missile detection satellite

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NASA had a record pool of 18000 applicants to be an astronaut. These 12 made it. - USA TODAY