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| The 8 Balls | |
|---|---|
 Group 21 astronauts. Back row, L-R: Meir, Cassada, Glover, Morgan and Koch. Front row, L-R: McClain, Hague and Mann | |
| Year selected | 2013 |
| Number selected | 8 |
In 2011 NASA opened applications for Astronaut Group 21. The team was announced in June 2013 after a year and a half long search. With four men and four women, the class of 2013 had the highest percentage of female finalists.[1] According to NASA astronaut Kathleen Rubins, "it's… a reflection of how many really talented women are in science and engineering these days."[2] NASA received a total of over 6,300 applications, which made it the second highest number received at the time (the class of 2017 surpassed both records with a total of more than 18,300).[3]
Traditionally, the upcoming class is given a nickname by the previous class. Following this custom, the class of 2009 (also known as "The Chumps") christened the 2013 class the "Eight Balls" in reference to there being eight of them. Bob Behnken, then Chief of the Astronaut Office, stated in an interview that the name further represents that, "The eight ball [in billiards or pool] is played last and the hope from the preceding class is that the [2013 astronaut candidates] will be assigned after all of them [fly]."[4] The team consists of eight people, Jessica Meir, Ph.D., Major Nicole Mann, Lt. Commander Josh Cassada, Ph.D., Lt. Colonel Tyler Hague, Christina Koch, Major Andrew Morgan, M.D., Lt. Commander Victor Glover, and Lt. Colonel Anne McClain.
Of the five members of the group who have flown in space as of April 2020, all five place on the list of then longest spaceflights for NASA astronauts, with Koch holding the record for the longest single spaceflight for a woman. Meir and Koch were also the first women to participate in an all-female spacewalk.
- ^ NASA (June 17, 2013), Astronaut Class of 2013, retrieved October 19, 2017
- ^ Hiler, Katie (June 18, 2013). "NASA's New Class of Astronauts Gives Parity to Men and Women". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
- ^ "Popular Science Q&A: How NASA Selected The 2013 Class Of Astronauts". Popular Science. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
- ^ "NASA's new astronaut class, the '8 Balls,' reports for training | collectSPACE". collectSPACE.com. Retrieved October 19, 2017.