NASA Now Accepting Applications for Mars Astronauts
NASA revealed Tuesday it's looking for its next class of astronauts.
If you've ever wanted to go to the Moon (or even further), now's your chance. On Tuesday, NASA opened the application process to become one of its astronauts with an online application. Between now and April, interested candidates can submit their resumes and credentials to NASA's Astronaut Selection Board for review. Those chosen will become members of the space agency's Artemis program, which eventually intends to take astronauts to Mars for the first time.
Once the applicants are reviewed, NASA says "the board then invites a small group of the most highly qualified candidates for interviews at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas."
We're seeking the next class of @NASA_Astronauts. Candidates could fly on Artemis missions to the Moon and, eventually, Mars. Will you be one of them?
— NASA (@NASA) March 5, 2024
Applications to #BeAnAstronaut are open through April 2, 2024. Start yours at https://t.co/nurYiiWxmx. pic.twitter.com/WsLcSbnrM2
Should astronauts make it through the first round of interviews, they will then undergo a second in-person interview. "From that group, NASA's new astronaut candidates are selected," the NASA website says. "They report for training at Johnson and spend the next two years learning basic astronaut skills like spacewalking, operating the space station, flying T-38 jet planes and controlling a robotic arm."
NASA lists four requirements to become an astronaut: 1.) be a United States citizen, 2.) have a master's degree in a STEM field, 3.) have three years of professional experience in the field upon graduation, and 4.) be able to successfully complete NASA's long-flight astronaut physical.
To apply for NASA's Astronaut Selection Program, you can visit the NASA site here.
The next mission for the Artemis program is Artemis II, which will be a crewed mission that flies around the lunar surface. That's currently scheduled to launch in September 2025. Artemis II is expected to last around 10 days, and will follow a similar flight path to that of Artemis I late last year. The program and crew is currently set to launch to space next November, giving them nearly two full years to prepare for the mission. While those on the crew won't return to the lunar surface—something being saved for Artemis III in 2025—they will be the humans to travel furthest in space since Apollo 13 in 1970.