NASA is accepting applications for aspiring astronauts for a mission to where no one has gone before: Mars.
The agency announced Monday that is looking for candidates to embark on any of four U.S. spacecraft that will be integral to the journey: the International Space Station, two commercial spacecraft, and NASA’s Orion deep-space exploration vehicle, which will help pave the way for the trip to the fourth rock from the Sun.
“NASA is on an ambitious journey to Mars and we’re looking for talented men and women from diverse backgrounds and every walk of life to help get us there,” said NASA Administrator and former astronaut Charles Bolden in a statement. “Today, we opened the application process for our next class of astronauts, extraordinary Americans who will take the next giant leap in exploration. This group will launch to space from U.S. soil on American-made spacecraft and blaze the trail on our journey to the Red Planet.”
To qualify, candidates must be U.S. citizens, have a bachelor’s degree in a relevant science field and at least three years of “related, progressively responsible professional experience, or at least 1,000 hours of pilot-in-command time in jet aircraft.” Candidates must also pass NASA’s long-duration astronaut physical.
The plan for the Orion spacecraft is to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida heading towards the Moon. Once in lunar orbit, space vehicle will conduct “unprecedented missions” to learn more about the deep-space environment before NASA moves on to longer-duration missions “on the journey to Mars.”
NASA’s job listing offers a salary range of $66,026 to $144,566, and selected candidates will have to move to Houston, where NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center is located. Final candidate selections will be made in mid-2017.
The selection process will likely be very competitive. AP reports that only 8 astronaut candidates out of 6,000 were selected in 2013.
More than 300 astronauts have flown for NASA since it was founded in 1958, 49 of them women.
“NASA’s mission, and what we need from the astronauts helping to carry it out, has evolved over the years,” said Brian Kelly, director of Flight Operations at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “Some people would be surprised to learn they might have what it takes. We want and need a diverse mix of individuals to ensure we have the best astronaut corps possible.”
