Two southwestern candidates are among the highly-educated and skilled finalists who remain in the running to become Canada’s next astronauts.

In a presentation live-streamed on Facebook on Monday, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) revealed the names of the top 17 candidates. The impressive group of 12 men and five women includes pilots, engineers, doctors, scientists, and academics from all over the country.

Dr. Adam Sirek of Tecumseh and Chatham native Erik Kroeker made the cut.

CSA astronaut Jeremy Hanson and Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains were on hand to introduce the potential astronauts to the public. Hanson said the CSA received 3,772 applications submitted last summer.

“We’re searching for people that I would climb into a rocket with and fly to space,” Hanson said. “Who have to be able to fix the toilet one day, be a plumber in space, to conducting world-class science to carrying out a risky spacewalk.”

The remaining finalists have already undergone various rounds of rigorous testing, including emergency simulations and robotics training, to see how well they perform under pressure and how they operate in a team, Hanson said.

“We really want to know what they’re made of,” he explained. “We put them in scenarios where they’re fighting fires, battling a sinking ship, escaping out of a capsule that’s landed in high seas.”

Bains praised the finalists and pointed out the importance of nurturing Canada’s space program.

“The young Canadians whose imaginations are fired up today, could be the innovators of tomorrow,” he said before offering some advice to the candidates. “Good luck and kick some butt.”

According to the CSA’s website, the top two applicants will be announced this summer, in time to begin training in August.

With files from CTVNews.ca.