NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, Patuxent River, Md. -- A lifelong dream came true for a Pax River Marine pilot here when she received news in early June that she was chosen to be an astronaut candidate.

Maj. Nicole Mann, a naval aviator supporting the Strike Planning and Execution Program Office (PMA-281), was one of eight candidates, from a pool 6,100 applicants, selected to be part of NASA's elite astronaut program, according to the agency’s press release.

"Everyone dreams of going to space, but to possibly have the chance to do it is the opportunity of a lifetime," said Mann, who reminisced about wanting to be an explorer as a young girl.

Mann said she has been interested in science and technology since childhood. Fixing and taking things apart as well as understanding how and why things worked had always fascinated her.

"As I got older, I knew I wanted to focus my education in the area of math and science, which is why mechanical engineering seemed fitting," she said. "When I started to explore my options in high school, I felt a sense of honor and pride when I thought about serving my country. That is what drove me toward the military."

Mann said she knew she would receive a great education and have the opportunity to serve her country by attending the U.S. Naval Academy. The summer before her senior year at the academy, Mann had the opportunity to fly in the backseat of an F/A-18 for the first time. She hadn't necessarily thought about an aviation career path before that day, she said, but it was an amazing experience that changed her life.

"Wow, it’s the best of both worlds, to be a Marine and be able to fly,"  she recalled thinking.

After graduating from the academy with a degree in mechanical engineering, Mann went on to receive her master's at Stanford University. Next came flight school, where she earned her pilot’s wings in 2003 and selected the F/A-18C, a multi-mission tactical jet aircraft.

More than a decade later, Mann has logged more than 1,500 flight hours and 47 combat missions. In the F/A-18C, she has completed two deployments flying missions off USS  Enterprise (CVN 65) in support of operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom.

Besides her aviation background, Mann said her test and acquisition experience at Pax River definitely helped ease NASA’s interview process. A 2009 Naval Test Pilot School Class 135 graduate, Mann served as a test pilot and the operations officer for Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23 before joining PMA-281, where she leads a team that provides mission planning systems to aviation and amphibious forces.

“Maj. Mann has been performing at the "astronaut" level in this office since her arrival,” said Mike Paul, PMA-281 program manager. “In my time in the military and as a civilian, she would be my first choice for this program.”

Life for this Marine pilot, military spouse and mother is about to get more exciting. In just two months, Mann and her 16-month son will head to Houston, so she can begin training at Johnson Space Center while her husband begins a yearlong deployment to the Middle East.

"It will be a challenge to say the least, but I am ready for it,” she said.

Mann and the team of new astronaut candidates will receive a wide array of technical training at space centers around the globe to prepare for missions to low-Earth orbit, an asteroid and Mars, according to NASA.