The “8 Balls”

(Before It's News)

collectSPACE.com

NASA on Tuesday (Aug. 20) formally welcomed the eight members of its 2013 astronaut class, nicknamed the “Eight Balls” (or “8 Balls”). Newly sworn-in and now ready to begin their basic training, the group was introduced by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden as being “critical to achieving our ambitious goals,” including carrying out the first human missions to an asteroid and to Mars. The “Eight Balls” include four men — Josh Cassada, Victor Glover, Nick Hague and Andrew Morgan — and four women — Christina Hammock, Nicole Mann, Anne McClain and Jessica Meir, and are NASA’s 21st astronaut class.

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