New Delhi: NASA will introduce its new class of astronaut candidates from the Johnson Space Centre in Houston on Wednesday.

The US space agency, after evaluating a record number of applicants from more than 18,300 people - which is more than double the previous record of 8,000 set in 1978 - will announce the names of the new astronaut candidates at 2 p.m. EDT Wednesday, June 7, 2017.

The astronauts will join acting NASA Administrator Robert Lightfoot, Johnson Center Director Ellen Ochoa, and Flight Operations Director Brian Kelly on stage at the event, which will air Live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

The selected astronaut candidates would begin their training in spacecraft systems, spacewalking skills, teamwork, Russian language and other necessary skills from August.

"After completing two years of training, the new astronaut candidates could be assigned to missions performing research at the International Space Station -- launching from the American soil, and also launching on deep space missions," NASA said in a statement.

"With more human spacecraft in development in the US than at any other time in history, the future astronauts... will take humans farther into space than ever before," NASA added.

The new astronaut candidates had submitted their applications between December 2015 to February 2016.

The space agency also aims to launch crews into orbit around the Moon, and on missions to Mars in Orion capsules to be lifted from John Kennedy Space Centre by the Space Launch System rocket.

The rocket's first unmanned test flight is targeted for 2019, with a first manned flight possibly around 2022.

After completing two years of training, the new astronaut candidates could be assigned to missions performing research on the International Space Station, launching from American soil on spacecraft built by commercial companies, and launching on deep space missions on NASA’s new Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket.

(With IANS inputs)