I Applied to Be a NASA Astronaut. You Can Too

Recently, I applied to become an astronaut. I would like to be able to say that there is a non-zero chance I will be accepted, but sub-zero is more like it. Not a whole lot of people who can actually recall Sputnik—which, for the record, was launched on Oct. 4, 1957—quite make the age cut to climb on top of a rocket. Still, I filled out the nine-page form and sent it in, even if I have no doubt I’ll wind up in the cosmic slush pile. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] You, however, may have more luck. NASA is hiring; on March 5 it opened its doors to a new class of 12 or so astronauts and will be accepting applications until April 2, though it is considering extending the deadline to accommodate more candidates. The salary is $152,258; the place of employment is the Johnson Space Center in Houston—with work trips to, you know, space. But it’s best to prepare yourself for disappointment. NASA hires a new astronaut class every four years or so, and back in 2015, a peak year, there were about 12,000 applicants—a number that could be matched this time around too, says April Jordan, NASA’s astronaut hiring manager. “There were certainly some things going on in the world then, like The Martian coming out,” says Jordan. The rise of the private space sector and the beginning of NASA’s Artemis lunar program could similarly turbocharge things in 2024. Not every one of the applications in 2015 was entirely seri...
Source: TIME: Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Uncategorized healthscienceclimate Source Type: news