The U.S. space agency has chosen 12 new astronauts.

They are scientists. They are doctors. They are engineers. They fly airplanes. Some have been in the military.

All could fly on a future NASA spacecraft.

More than 18,300 people applied for the program. That is the most in NASA’s history. The old record was 8,000. That was in 1978. The nation’s space shuttle program was just starting.

The new group will join 44 astronauts who are already part of NASA.

Right now, their mission is not as clear as it was for earlier groups. The shuttle program ended in 2011.

The new astronaut class is diverse. Members include seven men and five women. The youngest is 29. The oldest is 42.

They are from cities as far west as Anchorage, Alaska, and as far east as Miami, Florida. They are from different cultures.

Not everyone can be an astronaut. There are certain requirements.

They must be U.S. citizens. They must have a college degree in science, technology, engineering or math. (STEM courses) They need three years or 1,000 hours of experience in flying jets.

But those in the new group still bring different talents.

Jessica Watkin is a geologist. That is aperson who studies the solids and liquids of Earth. She was part of NASA’s Mars rover program.

Dr. Jonny Kim was trained as a SEAL. That is the Navy’s special “Sea, Air and Land” team. He also trained in emergency medicine.

All of their talents may be needed in the years ahead.

Kim said it “may be a little unclear” what the future holds for the new group. He means they do not know what type of spacecraft they might fly.

We are just happy to be here,” he said.

The new group has two years of training ahead. Then they might fly beyond the moon in NASA’s Orion spacecraft. They could even go to Mars.

They will also probably fly private rockets to the International Space Station.

SpaceX and Boeing are building capsules that could carry them to the space station as soon as next year.

Robb Kulin is among the new astronauts. He also leads the launch engineering group at SpaceX.

21. “Hopfully, one day, I can actually fly on a vehicle that…I got to design.

News for You, June 28, 2017

Barron Becomes First Boy to Live in the White House Since 1963

The first family is together again.

Donald Trump became president five months ago. But he has been living alone in the White House. Now, his wife, Melania has moved in. So has their son, Barron.

Melania and Barron have been living in New York. They waited to move until Barron finished his school year there.

Barron is Trump’s fifth and youngest child. He is 11 years old.

He is also the first boy to live in the White House since 1963. That is when John F. Kennedy, Jr. was part of the first family.

The last few presidents have raised girls. Malia and Sasha Obama have grown up there over the past eight years.

Barron will start at a new school in the fall. The family chose St. Andrews Episcopal School. It is a private school in Maryland. It is about 17 miles from the White House. He will be in the sixth grade.

Its class sizes are small. They have only 11 to 13 students in them. The school said all of those who graduate go on to college.

Most of the recent first children have gone to private schools. Chelsea Clinton went to the Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C. So did the Obama girls.

But Amy Carter went to a public school in the city. She is the daughter of Jimmy Carter.

Melania Trump is helping Barron get used to his new home. She also may become more active as first lady.

She has held a few events. She co-hosted the yearly Easter Egg Roll. She traveled with her husband on his first foreign trip. They went to the Middle East and Europe. But she has not spent much time in Washington.

Most first ladies pick an issue to focus on. She talked about that during the campaign. She said she would focus on cyberbullying. That means to bully a person using online messages.

She also has shown an interest in helping military veterans, women, and girls.

News for You, June 28, 2017

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