NASA has opened applications for the next generation of astronauts that will travel to the Moon and Mars.
Potential space farers have until the end of this month to submit their application to the US space agency, which says ‘extensive travel may apply’.
New astronauts will have to undergo a two-year training and evaluation period and pass a series of physical requirements to be part of the Artemis programme.
For the first time in its 61-year history, NASA is also requiring prospective astronauts to have a master’s degree in a STEM-related field like maths or computer science.
The space agency is preparing to send the first woman and next man to the Moon though its Artemis programme by 2024.
Exploring the Moon during the 2020s will help prepare humanity to ultimately send astronauts to Mars in the 2030s, NASA said.
NASA and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronauts acknowledge the audience during a graduation ceremony at Johnson Space Center in Houston Texas, in January
Aspiring space farers have until 11:59pm EDT Tuesday, March 31 (4:59am on Wednesday, April 1) to apply on the US government jobs website.
‘America is closer than any other time in history since the Apollo program to returning astronauts to the Moon,’ said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.
‘We will send the first woman and next man to the lunar South Pole by 2024, and we need more astronauts to follow suit on the Moon, and then Mars.
‘We’re looking for talented men and women from diverse backgrounds and every walk of life to join us in this new era of human exploration that begins with the Artemis program to the Moon.
‘If you have always dreamed of being an astronaut, apply now.’
NASA will select its final candidates – who will make up the 23rd class of astronauts in the agency’s 61 year history – by mid-2021.
The full-time, permanent position located in Houston, Texas will pay between $104,000 and $161,000 per year.
For the first time in the agency’s 61 year history, it will require prospective astronauts have a master’s degree in a STEM-related field like math or computer science
This equates to about £81,000 to £125,000 annually – however, successful applicants have to be US citizens.
Other requirements include a master’s degree in a science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) field, from an accredited institution.
The master’s degree requirement can also be met by two years of work towards a PhD programme in a related science, tech, engineering or maths field; a completed doctor of medicine or doctor of osteopathic medicine degree; or a completed test pilot school programme.
Candidates also must have at least two years of related ‘progressively responsible experience’ or at least 1,000 hours of pilot-in-command time in jet aircraft.
They must also complete the long duration space flight physical, which requires 20/20 vision in each eye and a standing height between 62 and 75 inches.
For the first time, applicants will also be required to take an online assessment that will take up to two hours.
After training the new astronauts could live and work on the International Space Station, 250 miles above Earth.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Since the 1960s, NASA has selected 350 people to train as astronaut candidates
There they will take part in experiments that will help prepare NASA missions to the Moon and then Mars.
They may launch on NASA’s new Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, docking in lunar orbit before boarding another vehicle to the Moon’s surface.
After returning humans to the Moon in 2024, NASA plans to send astronauts to the Moon once per year and establish lunar exploration by 2028.
The program will lay the groundwork in NASA’s plans to send crewed missions to the Red Planet in the 2030s.
Security personnel walk with the core stage of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket, that will be used for the Artemis 1 Mission
‘Becoming an astronaut is no easy task, because being an astronaut is no easy task,’ said Steve Koerner, NASA’s director of flight operations and chair of the Astronaut Selection Board at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
‘Those who apply will likely be competing against thousands who have dreamed of and worked toward going to space for as long as they can remember.
‘But somewhere among those applicants are our next astronauts, and we look forward to meeting you.’
When NASA last opened applications for astronaut candidates a record-breaking 18,300 people applied.
Of that intake, 11 new astronauts graduated earlier this year in NASA’s first public graduation ceremony.
WHAT IS NASA’S ARTEMIS MISSION TO THE MOON?
Artemis was the twin sister of Apollo and goddess of the Moon in Greek mythology.
NASA has chosen her to personify its path back to the Moon, which will see astronauts return to the lunar surface by 2024 – including the first woman and the next man.
Artemis 1, formerly Exploration Mission-1, is the first in a series of increasingly complex missions that will enable human exploration to the Moon and Mars.
Artemis 1 will be the first integrated flight test of NASA’s deep space exploration system: the Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the ground systems at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Artemis 1 will be an uncrewed flight that will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration, and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human existence to the Moon and beyond.
During this flight, the spacecraft will launch on the most powerful rocket in the world and fly farther than any spacecraft built for humans has ever flown.
It will travel 280,000 miles (450,600 km) from Earth, thousands of miles beyond the Moon over the course of about a three-week mission.
Artemis 1, formerly Exploration Mission-1, is the first in a series of increasingly complex missions that will enable human exploration to the Moon and Mars. This graphic explains the various stages of the mission
Orion will stay in space longer than any ship for astronauts has done without docking to a space station and return home faster and hotter than ever before.
With this first exploration mission, NASA is leading the next steps of human exploration into deep space where astronauts will build and begin testing the systems near the Moon needed for lunar surface missions and exploration to other destinations farther from Earth, including Mars.
The will take crew on a different trajectory and test Orion’s critical systems with humans aboard.
The SLS rocket will from an initial configuration capable of sending more than 26 metric tons to the Moon, to a final configuration that can send at least 45 metric tons.
Together, Orion, SLS and the ground systems at Kennedy will be able to meet the most challenging crew and cargo mission needs in deep space.
Eventually NASA seeks to establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon by 2028 as a result of the Artemis mission.
The space agency hopes this colony will uncover new scientific discoveries, demonstrate new technological advancements and lay the foundation for private companies to build a lunar economy.
