Need some space? Maybe you should work for NASA. As the National Space Aeronautics and Space Association prepares to launch American astronauts on American rockets from American soil to the International Space Station – with an eye toward the Moon and Mars – the agency has announced it will accept applications March 2 to 31 for the next class of Artemis Generation astronauts.
Since the 1960s, NASA has selected 350 people to train as astronaut candidates for its increasingly challenging missions to explore space. With 48 astronauts in the active astronaut corps, more will be needed to crew spacecraft bound for multiple destinations and propel exploration forward as part of Artemis missions and beyond.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said, “We’re celebrating our 20th year of continuous presence aboard the International Space Station in low-Earth orbit this year, and we’re on the verge of sending the first woman and next man to the Moon by 2024. For the handful of highly talented women and men we will hire to join our diverse astronaut corps, it’s an incredible time in human spaceflight to be an astronaut. We’re asking all eligible Americans if they have what it to takes to apply beginning March 2.”
The basic requirements to apply include United States citizenship and a master’s degree in a STEM field. The requirement for the master’s degree can also be met in other ways.
Candidates also must have at least two years of related, progressively responsible professional experience, or at least 1,000 hours of pilot-in-command time in jet aircraft. Astronaut candidates must pass the NASA long-duration spaceflight physical.
Americans may apply at www.usajobs.gov
