More Americans than ever think they have the “right stuff” for space travel.
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If you’re wondering what qualifies someone to be an astronaut, a few things NASA looks for are a degree in engineering, science or math; at least three years of professional experience or 1,000 hours of pilot time in a jet aircraft; and the ability to pass NASA’s long-duration space flight physical. An 18-month process will help NASA determine which 8 to 14 people will earn the chance to become an astronaut candidate.
Back to the present day: NASA will be spending the next 18 months interviewing and selecting candidates for its 2017 astronaut class. That doesn’t mean you’re automatically in – that just gets your foot in the door as a candidate.
“We have our work cut out for us with this many applications”, Brian Kelly, director of flight operations at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, acknowledged Friday in a news release. Since 1959 NASA has chosen more than 300 astronauts and now has 47 among its ranks.
NASA’s Administrator Charles Bolden said that it is not at all surprising for him to see so many Americans from different backgrounds to be interested in contributing to the upcoming Mars journey.
The 18,000 astronaut applicants surpass the 8,000 people who applied for the job in 1978. Following the final decision, these candidates will begin two years of rigorous training at Johnson, which will involve training on subjects such as spacecraft systems, spacewalking, and Russian language. “But it’s heartening to know so many people recognize what a great opportunity this is to be part of NASA’s exciting mission”.
At first, the 2017 class will probably only be going to the International Space Station.
In December, the call for new astronaut candidates included an enticing detail: the opportunity to land on Mars.
NASA expects to announce its new class in mid-2017.
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According to NASA, those who manage to complete the training will be assigned to one of the following spacecrafts – the International Space Station, NASA’s Orion spacecraft for deep space exploration, or one of two American-made commercial crew spacecrafts now in development – Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner or the SpaceX Crew Dragon, NASA added.
