NASA picks 12 new astronauts from crush of applicants

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

The astronaut class of 2017 includes doctors, scientists, engineers, pilots and military officers from Anchorage to Miami and points in between.

Vice President Mike Pence welcomed the group during a televised ceremony at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

U.S. astronauts have not launched from home soil since 2011, when the space shuttles were retired, thus the low head count.

SpaceX and Boeing are building capsules capable of carrying astronauts to the space station and back as soon as next year.

Dr. Jonny Kim, a former Navy SEAL and specialist in emergency medicine, told reporters it "may be a little unclear" what the future holds, at least regarding what spacecraft he and his fellow astronauts might fly.

Requirements include U.S. citizenship; degrees in science, technology, engineering or math; and at least three years of experience or 1,000 hours of piloting jets.

— Navy Lt. Kayla Barron of Richland, Washington, a submarine-warfare officer and nuclear engineer who was among the first class of women commissioned into the submarine service and now works at the U.S. Naval Academy.

— Marine Maj. Jasmin Moghbeli of Baldwin, New York, who tests H-1 helicopters and serves as a quality assurance and avionics officer for Marine Operational Test Evaluation Squadron 1 in Yuma, Arizona.