According to a release from the agency, the next class of astronauts could fly on the worldwide Space Station, two commercial crew spacecraft in development or NASA’s Orion deep-space exploration vehicle.
Advertisement
NASA, the USA government agency responsible for the civilian space program as well as aeronautics and aerospace research, says future spacemen and spacewomen will launch once again from the Space Coast of Florida on commercial spacecraft, and carry out exploration missions into deep space that will advance a future human mission to the Red Planet. You can also visit NASA.gov/Astronauts to learn more about the application process.
The last time NASA solicited applicants four years ago, 6,372 USA citizens responded. That was almost double the average number during the space shuttle era, when typically about 3,500 people would apply each time.
NASA wrote “Since the selection of the first class of astronauts, many men and women have pursued and realized their dreams of flying in space”. Applications for consideration are being accepted at usajobs.gov.
On the worldwide Space Station (ISS), an astronaut witnesses a sunrise and sunset every 90 min. Away from Earth’s day-night cycle, the new environment is bound to make an astronaut’s circadian clock a tad wonky. NASA and private aerospace companies are busily preparing for new missions to the worldwide Space Station as well as to deep space, including an asteroid and eventually Mars by the 2030s. It said it will likely announce its picks in mid-2017. The first human mission in the Orion spacecraft is unlikely before 2023, and that will probably be a lunar flyby. NASA’s youngest astronaut was Sally Ride at 32. With the American spaceflight program grounded since 2011 when the space shuttle was retired, NASA is looking to bolster its corps, which now consists of just 47 astronauts.
Advertisement
NASA will accept applications from December 14 through mid-February and announce its candidates in 2017. The bare minimum requirement isn’t too rough: You need to have a bachelor’s degree in science, math, engineering, or a few other technology field – and on top of that, you need either three years of related career experience or 1,000 hours of time logged piloting a jet aircraft. An advanced degree or military experience are desirable but not mandatory.
