page_title: NASA Astronaut Group 21
section_title: Group members
hierarchical_section_title: NASA Astronaut Group 21 / Group members
caption_attribution_description: English: Four NASA astronauts, all members of the Astronaut Class of 2013, pose for a portrait aboard the International Space Station. From left are Flight Engineers Nick Hague, Andrew Morgan, Christina Koch and Jessica Meir.
context_page_description: NASA Astronaut Group 21 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. According to NASA astronaut Kathleen Rubins, "it's… a reflection of how many really talented women are in science and engineering these days." NASA received a total of over 6,300 applications, which made it the second highest number received at the time.
  Traditionally, the upcoming class is given a nickname by the previous class. Following this custom, the class of 2009 christened the 2013 class the "Eight Balls" in reference to the fact that there are 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]." 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.
context_section_description: Josh A. Cassada, Born 18 July 1973, San Diego, California
  Future Flight, Boeing's first crewed CST-100 Starliner operational flight CTS-1 (2021)
  Victor J. Glover, Born 30 April 1976, Pomona, California
  Future Flight, second crewed and first operational SpaceX Dragon 2, USCV-1 (Expedition 64).
  Tyler N. "Nick" Hague, Born 24 September 1975, Belleville, Kansas
  Flight Engineer- Soyuz MS-10 (Expedition 57/58)- 11 October 2018 (Aborted Sub-orbital)
  Flight Engineer- Soyuz MS-12 (Expedition 59/60)- 14 March 2019
  Christina Hammock Koch, Born 29 January 1979, Grand Rapids, Michigan
  Flight Engineer - Soyuz MS-12 (Expedition 59/60/61)- 14 March 2019
  Nicole Aunapu Mann, Born 27 June 1977, Petaluma, California
  Future Flight, Boeing's first crewed CST-100 Starliner demo flight Boe-CFT (2021)
  Anne C. McClain, Born 7 June 1979, Spokane, Washington
  Flight Engineer - Soyuz MS-11 (Expedition 58/59)- 3 December 2018
  Jessica U. Meir, Ph. D, Born 1 July 1977, Caribou, Maine
  Flight Engineer - Soyuz MS-15 (Expedition 61/62) - 25 September 2019
  Andrew R. Morgan, MD, Born 5 February 1976, Morgantown, West Virginia
  Flight Engineer - Soyuz MS-13 (Expedition 60/61) - 20 July 2019
caption: Nick Hague, Andrew Morgan, Christina Koch and Jessica Meir inside ISS, 25 September 2019.
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