NASA opens applications up for new astronauts

For the first time in four years, NASA is accepting new applications to be an astronaut, but the qualifications needed are particularly demanding.

Fancy a flight to the moon? Do you spend your time daydreaming about being the next person to make a giant leap for mankind? Do you also have a medical doctorate and 1,000 flight hours logged as a pilot? Then do I have the niche application for you.

NASA has opened up applications for new astronauts today, it’s first time doing so in four years. You’ll need to be a US citizen to apply and have until March 31^st to do so – but the most basic qualification requirements are quite demanding.

For one, you’ll need to have had two years of work toward a STEM Ph.D. program under your belt, a completed doctorate in medicine, and be part of a test pilot school program. Within that you’ll need to have done 1,000 hours of work commanding a jet aircraft and pass NASA’s spaceflight physical examination.

If selected you could end up spending up to a year on the International Space Station, so NASA wants to make sure it’s not flinging people out into the cosmos that can’t hack it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fXsAvv96Gw

Explorers Wanted: NASA to Hire More New Artemis Generation Astronauts (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fXsAvv96Gw)

Keep in mind too that these are just the bare minimum qualifications you’ll need. Many recruits and chosen applicants go above and beyond that call, and the actual selection process is notably tough. In the last call for new astronauts only 12 were picked out of a pool of over 18,300. One resigned due to personal reasons while in training, leaving the selection cut down to only eleven. Those are some tough margins.

Still, if you’re reading this and somehow also have all of those qualifications as listed above, then you can apply to NASAs programme here. Maybe you’ll be the next person to fly into space; I know I certainly couldn’t do it.

Remember you’ve got until the end of March to apply, so get those CVs thoroughly sorted.

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