The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has picked Iranian-American Jasmin Moghbeli as one of 12 astronaut candidates for the Class of 2017.

Moghbeli is a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School and has accumulated more than 1,600 hours of flight time and 150 combat missions.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering and a Master’s in Aerospace Engineering.

The U.S. Army Central Command congratulated Moghbeli on being selected out of 18,000 applicants in a tweet in Persian on Friday.

SP/PA