At 10 a.m. EST Wednesday, Jan. 29, eight NASA astronaut candidates will join John P. Holdren, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and students from Washington area schools for the annual White House State of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (SoSTEM) address.

NASA Television will provide live coverage of this event to promote STEM education featuring the agency's 2013 astronaut candidate class.

The White House SoSTEM Address will include more than 100 students from around the Washington area, Dr. Holdren, U.S. Chief Technology Officer Todd Park, as well as a panel moderated by astronaut Joe Acaba and the astronaut candidates. A video from the International Space Station also will be shown.

This annual event celebrates President Obama's commitment to lifting America’s game in STEM education as articulated in past State of the Union addresses and is held the day after this year’s address. Select guests of the First Lady from the president’s Tuesday night speech, including 16-year old Joey "Marshmallow" Hudy, will also be featured.

NASA's 2013 astronaut candidates are: Josh A. Cassada and Victor J. Glover, lieutenant commanders in the U.S. Navy; Tyler N. "Nick" Hague, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force; Christina M. Hammock; Nicole Aunapu Mann, a major in the U.S. Marine Corps; Anne C. McClain a major in the U.S. Army; Jessica U. Meir, who holds a Ph.D. in marine biology and Andrew R. Morgan a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army.

These candidates were selected from a pool of more than 6,000 applicants, the second largest in NASA's history. The group is in a two-year training process, which includes technical activities at space centers and remote locations around the globe. The training is designed to prepare them for missions that will help the agency push the boundaries of exploration and travel to new destinations in the solar system, including an asteroid and Mars.

MEDIA REGISTRATION: SoSTEM is OPEN PRESS, but speakers and guests will take questions only from invited students. Media wishing to cover this event must RSVP. Press holding White House hard passes must send their name, media outlet, phone, and email, to media_affairs@who.eop.gov, by Tuesday, Jan. 28, at 5 p.m. EST, with the subject line “SoSTEM”. Press not holding White House hard passes must include their full legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, gender, country of citizenship, and current city and state of residence . All press will enter the White House at the Northwest Gate.

For more information about the astronaut candidates, and details on the astronaut selection process, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/2013astroclass

Follow the group's activities on Twitter:

@AstroClass2013

In addition to being carried live on NASA TV and the agency's website, the White House event will be webcast live at:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/live

For NASA TV streaming video, schedules and downlink information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

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