20.08 NASA�s Newest Astronauts Discuss Having

WASHINGTON, August 20 (by Karin Zeitvogel for RIA Novosti) � NASA on Tuesday welcomed its newest astronauts � four men and four women who grew up on farms, military bases and in suburbia across the country, studied �hard science� in college, and have a wide range of professional experience from researching penguins in Antarctica to flying US fighter jets.

�They not only have the right stuff professionally, physically and personally, they also represent the full tapestry of American diversity,� NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said at a news conference to introduce the astronaut class of 2013.

�And with half of them being women, this is the highest percentage of women ever in a class of astronaut candidates,� Bolden added.

All in their mid-to-late-30s, the new astronauts shared some tips on how to be chosen to join the select ranks of NASA spacefarers, and how they stood out in the pool of more than 6,000 Americans who applied 18 months ago.

Physical fitness is a must for would-be astronauts, as is US citizenship and studying a �hard science� � physics, chemistry, biology, a branch of engineering -- at a university, said Jessica Meir, who is leaving a job as an assistant professor of anesthesiology at Harvard Medical School to become an astronaut.

All of the new astronauts have multiple science degrees and several years of work experience, but, �We all took very different paths to get here,� Army Maj. Anne McClain, who has played rugby on the US women�s national team, said.

�My advice to young people is to find something you�re passionate about, that you enjoy doing so that if you never get to the step of becoming an astronaut, you can look back and be satisfied,� she said.

New astronaut Navy Lt. Cmdr. Victor Glover said the application process included a requirement to compose a tweet, a limerick or a haiku poem.

�I did a limerick and it goes: