Video PlayerClose

HOUSTON, June 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday welcomed 12 new astronauts while visiting the NASA Johnson Space Center here.

"These are 12 men and women whose personal excellence and whose personal courage will carry our nation to even greater heights of discovery and who I know will inspire our children and our grandchildren every bit as much as your forebears have done so in this storied American program," Pence said in his speech.

The newly announced candidates were chosen from more than 18,300 applicants who had submitted applications from December 2015 to February 2016. That figure was more than double the previous record of 8,000 set in 1978.

While at the space center, Pence toured the International Space Station mission control center, and the historic mission control center, which was used during early NASA spaceflights, including the first moon landing mission, Apollo 11.

The new astronauts will report to the space center in August to begin their two-year training in spacecraft systems, spacewalking skills, teamwork, Russian language and other necessary skills.

They could be assigned to any of a variety of missions, including performing research on the International Space Station, launching from American soil on spacecraft built by commercial companies, and departing for deep space missions on NASA's new Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket.